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MARRYING KIND? HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE

August 1, 2021 by

Being the marrying kind takes practice. Eventually things work themselves out. From the relationship vault: A few weeks into a sizzling new romance, Lovey and I were in my Lovejoy apartment late one night when the building buzzer started and wouldn’t stop. I got up and pushed the front door button. After all, the place […]

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OPTIONAL FRIENDSHIP: YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

June 16, 2021 by

An optional friendship depends on time and place. But it’s not your time or your place. Tell me if this sounds familiar: “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to do anything, but in between my schedule, my plans, my obligations, my interests, my work, my obsessions, my fears, we should get together sometime.” […]

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CAN DIFFERENCE MAKERS CHANGE OPINIONS LIKE YOURS

May 29, 2021 by

Difference makers show up at the right time and we all celebrate. They show up when you get lost, when you’re confused. When you need help, there they are. But where are they when you’re not lost, not confused? What do they do when you don’t need any help? Don’t worry, they’re still out there […]

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MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH OF MAY, 2021

May 12, 2021 by

Mental health never takes a day off, but it gets a month out of the year for more awareness. Except mental health is a harder reach. Talk to someone about it and it goes good until you hear more about their problems. Then what? It’s good to have a plan.

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FIGHT TOGETHER, OR AGAINST EACH OTHER

May 1, 2021 by

Fight together if you have goals and aspirations. Face it, going it alone is too hard. A solitary life won’t understand how this works. Neither will a shallow life that bows to every new fad and flavor. The problem for too many is what to do if they bow down so far they fall on […]

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MALE IDENTIFICATION: BASIC OR FUNDAMENTAL

March 30, 2021 by

Male identification is more than name, rank, and serial number, or social security, birthday, driver’s license number. Why? “Because men evolve, man. Like, we’re not who you think we are.” Unfortunately, especially for men, we are who they think we are based on media portrayal. Even if we’re not, we get painted with the same […]

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GIVE EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME? NOT SO FAST

February 3, 2021 by

“Give everything when you give all you’ve got.’ If you’ve heard this before, then you played high school football in the time before good sense. That particular time also had this: “Stick your head in there. That’s why you wear a helmet.” And this: “Only sissies drink water during practice. Are you thirsty, son?” And […]

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BIG CITY DICKENS, AND FADING LOVE LIGHTS, A Short Story Of Intimacy

January 19, 2021 by

I got engaged and followed my future across the country. We met while I was an English major nursing a writer’s dream after an Army tour. She graduated and moved home with our wedding plans, so I dropped out and followed. Then she dropped me. Instead of hanging around New Jersey for a second chance, […]

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STICKING AROUND AND SETTLING DOWN

November 14, 2020 by

Sticking around is an art form. It’s not hanging around, it’s sticking. Sticky. Instead of a picture on a wall to walk past, sticking around goes with you. (I know you’re thinking of shoes and gum.) When you start feeling like a piece of furniture, a decoration in your own life, do the sensible thing […]

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MICROBRAND MARRIAGE? JOIN THE CLUB

October 31, 2020 by

A microbrand marriage is an extra tightener on the matrimonial knot. The idea came to me during an important conversation about the R word. Realionship. Getting married seeps into everything until it becomes the defining relationship we’ll be judged by. The “Good Husband,” and, “Good Wife,” pressure is easier to manage in a microbrand marriage. […]

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