Let’s talk about my diet. Not the foods I eat, but the weight I want to lose. When I quit working at the Y five years ago, I sat at an appropriate weight. Maybe pushing the upper healthy range on the American Body Mass Index scale, but, just like people always say, it was all … Continue reading My New Plan
Blogging
The Conversation
Arrrr. This photo is unrelated to the story that follows... “I think I need to see Nicole.” “You’re feeling pretty bad, huh?” Who’s Nicole? She’s the only mental health professional I see. Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, general anxiety disorder, (rarely) depression, social anxiety. I should employ an army of neurologists, psychiatrists and therapists. Instead, … Continue reading The Conversation
On Personal Essays
Trigger warning: Disturbing description of childhood death. As we pulled into the parking spot, I found what I searched for all these years. Boxes and bowls trying to look haphazard, the kind Susan and I bought for our first house, shabby-chic; mailboxes, mouths gaped like baby birds begging for worms; a ladder, handmade, stolen from … Continue reading On Personal Essays
Killer Robots from the Future
Why leave a comment no one will ever read? I do this regularly at washingtonpost.com. My go-to news source offers readers an opportunity to comment on their articles. I did this today. Alexandra Petri, a Washington Post opinion columnist, knocked out a mildly amusing five-hundred words on her dislike of San Francisco’s killer robot plan. … Continue reading Killer Robots from the Future
And Another
Sixty isn’t old, right? I browse the obituaries daily. As part of my job managing finances for the county library system, I keep up with local current events. In a small town like mine, knowing who died might be the most important part of that effort. As I inch closer towards the end of my … Continue reading And Another
…it’s my blog that struggles
My star is falling, dropping fast into the sea. People stopped reading my blog—not all of them, but many. Fewer now than six months ago. And fewer then than before. Way fewer. I turned them away. I offended. Or I turned them off. Maybe I’m dull. Yes, hopefully I’m dull and not offensive. Tonight, I … Continue reading …it’s my blog that struggles
Crows
Crows in Australia go Vrark. Or so I hear. I keep writing about crows, and given the international nature of WordPress, it’s natural to get a global perspective. I heard this Vrark description from two sources. Both are bloggers who live in Melbourne. In a conversation with David W Don contrasting my small-town experience living … Continue reading Crows
Stuck
When I tumbled off my mountain bike two months ago, I knew immediately that I damaged my shoulder. Crumpled on the ground, the sensible side of my brain took over: Get up, get riding. Most people who grew up playing sports know that after a significant muscle strain or joint injury, there is often a … Continue reading Stuck
…and I don’t give a crap what anyone thinks!
Let me set the mood: October 1, 2017 – Las Vegas shooting, 60 dead, 413 wounded November, 5 2017 – Sutherland Springs church shooting, 26 dead, 22 wounded February 14, 2018 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, 17 dead, 17 wounded February 15, 2018 – Anastasia Bernoulli wrote her viral blog post “Fuck you, I like … Continue reading …and I don’t give a crap what anyone thinks!
Walk Away, Baby
The 5th Beatle Walking TallThe Walking DeadWalk on the Wild SideLong Walk to FreedomI Walk the LineThese Boots are made for WalkingWalk this WayWalking on SunshineThe Long WalkDead Man WalkingA Walk in the WoodsHow to Walk Movies, music, books—it permeates our culture. We even know catchy sayings like walk a mile in his shoes, and … Continue reading Walk Away, Baby
The Midnight Library
I sent Matt Haig a tweet. What are you, like thirty? How is it that you know so much about life? He’s not thirty, he’s forty-seven, but this was years ago, when I still used Twitter, when I read his book The Humans. Last night I closed the book on The Midnight Library. Maybe not … Continue reading The Midnight Library
She’s Crafty
I think I thought I seen her on eighth and forty-deuce… —From the Beastie Boys’ She’s Crafty(I love this lyric. I love this song). For Song Lyric Sunday My years of blogging launched an annoying habit. I became a serial commenter. When I read a blogpost, if the topic relates to me in any way, … Continue reading She’s Crafty
Katherine Dunn gives me a poke
The guy pulling the strings over at the Other Stuff isn’t doing his job. Generally, I resent bloggers making excuses for their absences. They all start with “Sorry I haven’t posted in so long…” and end with “I’m back, and I promise to do better.” Hollow promises. These self-chastising posts always represent a predictable step … Continue reading Katherine Dunn gives me a poke
Traumatized?
C.J. poked me today. Mr Cann, just checking in to see if you’re fine? Feel I’m going to worry that something random and terrible has happened any time there isn’t a blog post often enough! No kidding. She’s not the only one. Last Wednesday, I went to a spin class at the Y. As I … Continue reading Traumatized?
A Parade of Names
Congrats! The Other Stuff is getting noticed. herekittykitty and 3,898 others have started receiving updates. Yay, a new follower. A parade of names, thousands of them. Are any of them real? They arrive, a steady drip, three, four, seven a day. Names lacking an account, just a string of letters—sometimes numbers—linked to nothing, maybe there's … Continue reading A Parade of Names
Junk Shops
Dammit. I can’t find that post. I searched the blog for flea market, junk and vendor. No luck. No patience either. I want to write, not browse someone else’s blog looking for a post I might never find. I read it during my transition phase, shortly after I attended the West Virginia writer’s workshop. I … Continue reading Junk Shops
Aware
Each year, I link a blog post on Facebook and call Tourette Syndrome Awareness month a success. In my mind, I check it off the list. I spread some awareness, time for a break—a 364-day break, well earned, I need the rest. Last year I linked my thoughts on the book Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem’s … Continue reading Aware
Twenty Year Old Me from 1983
Sometimes I think of my phone as my best friend. Five years ago, I wrote an essay called Time Travel. I dismissed our current technological acuity as lightweight, more focused on entertaining ourselves with our cell phones than fixing the actual problems that plague society. Mostly, I focused on the severe diseases left unsolved from … Continue reading Twenty Year Old Me from 1983
Phone Call from the Future
Something's going on, and I'll probably never get it… --- Song lyric from She’s Crafty by the Beastie Boys I amaze myself at how incompetent I can be. If someone asked me what traits I hoped I instilled in my kids, my list would be 1) Politeness, 2) Empathy, and 3) Competence. That’s the order … Continue reading Phone Call from the Future
Twilight Zone
Diane died yesterday. Diane is my stepmother, was. Or maybe ‘my father’s wife’ is a better description. They dated and then married while I was in my thirties, long after I needed mothering. Sort of—an adult, obviously, but still immature. At the family dinner the night before their wedding, I toasted my wicked stepmother, … Continue reading Twilight Zone
The Other Stuff 