Writing from the Heart with Brian
Think, Laugh, & Cry Each Day
Hear ye, hear ye, we'll now have the airing of the Festivus grievances. If you ever watched the TV show Seinfeld, you know that today is Festivus -- created to fight the pressures and commercialism of Christmas. After the traditional dinner, participants express specific annoyances or disappointments with the others present. It's a moment of public critique.... Continue Reading →
Dear Santa, I can't believe it's been a year since we last talked. The news of the day has been trying. There's war. There's people struggling to get by. The world needs you now more than ever. We need your kindness and caring. We need your hope and optimism for a better tomorrow. Mostly, we... Continue Reading →
Theodor Seuss Geisel's work includes some of the most popular children's books of all time. In fact, it's estimated that he's sold over 600 million to 700 million copies worldwide. The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham have sold millions of copies by themselves. There's no other word for it. Dr. Seuss was a genius.... Continue Reading →
When I was a kid, I would often get tongue-tied. My brain would jump four steps ahead of my mouth and my thoughts would come out in a jumbled mess. It was a mix of a stutter and stammer. When I hit a rough patch in school, usually once or twice a week, I would've... Continue Reading →
I'm a strange sort. I'm attracted to sarcasm. I love to use words that mean the opposite of their literal meaning to mock or be humorous. Most people use sarcasm to criticize or insult. I'm not a fan of that. Instead, I use it as “gallows humor” to point out the crazy situations that I... Continue Reading →
My mom lied. My dad too. When I was a kid, I asked my mom one time for a second bowl of ice cream. For some reason, the memory sticks out in my head. I remember she ruffled my hair and turned me down. It was a hard no, the kind of no that told... Continue Reading →
A river charts its own path. Like the wind whipping through a valley, rivers go where they want to go. I couldn’t help but notice that the river I was admiring the other took hard right turn. It seemed to almost backtrack. I thought right away of the folksy movie Fried Green Tomatoes. In the movie, Buddy... Continue Reading →
I grunted "no." I didn't dare speak any clearer under my disguise or I would give away my identity. When I was ten or eleven, a local church had a Halloween party. You got dressed up in your Halloween costume and some of the older kids had to guess who was who. The last kid... Continue Reading →
(I first published this piece in February 2019. I've added a few extra items near the bottom of my list.) In the comic book world, Superman was brought to his knees by Kryptonite. He'd be kicking some bad guy's butt and Lex Luther or one villain or another would sneak some Kryptonite onto the scene... Continue Reading →
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
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