If you’re new around here, you may want to read this first: http://www.jaxworx.com/musings/rain-dog/ Context is where you find it, but sometimes a guide is useful. Twenty-two years ago, I bought a black armband. It was a ridiculous frilly thing, a garter actually. Every 17th of January, I wore it above my left elbow. People … [more]
Stop shooting at my flag
9-January-2013 by 1 Comment
Y’know, it’s just not that damned complicated. If someone wants to smoke pot — or nutmeg, or botanical orchid paste, or Cuban cigars — go ahead and let them, because that grass? Not your lawn. If someone wants to rub their bits on someone of whom you don’t approve, so what? They’re not your bits, … [more]
One for the twins
5-January-2013 by 1 Comment
It’s just a little thing, passed around and loaned down the years. Once upon a time, it belonged to a boy. His dad was Chuck and his mom was Susan. Chuck is a Vietnam vet and Susan has been his sweetheart since seventh grade. In their garage sleeps an R60 BMW. Chuck inherited it from … [more]
When borrowing a man’s truck…
30-December-2012 by 5 Comments
…or a woman’s, since ours more than ceremonially belongs to Pretty Wife, here are a few things to keep in mind: When you swing by to pick it up for your apartment move or latest oversized Craigslist acquisition, you won’t find much gas in the tank. If you know something about non-current models, you might … [more]
Greatest Grand
22-November-2012 by 5 Comments
Born in 1893, she was the eldest. Eldest sons assumed their family’s fortunes — however plush or mean they may be — but an eldest daughter assumed only responsibility, even if she grew up in a town bearing her surname on its sign. She left school after the eighth grade, discarding academic promise in favor … [more]
Things men should know
8-October-2012 by 12 Comments
For my stepson, on the imminent occasion of his moving out into the world: Here are a few things that men told me when I was young (and which I ignored), beside a few that I had to learn on my own (several times, in most cases). No matter who you are, or what you … [more]
Dialing 9-1-1
11-September-2012 by 5 Comments
Some of us are tired of rehashing September 11, 2001. “It’s been more than a decade,” some say, “why can’t you just let it go?” There are, after all, so many things to be concerned about. People die every day, and in a country of nearly 300 million souls, even the death of 3,000 at … [more]
Heirloom china
7-September-2012 by 1 Comment
So there’s a meme going around (as memes will do), poking fun at Mitt Romney’s new campaign button. It apparently reads “Believe in America” on its face, and has “MADE IN CHINA” stamped into the back. I have no idea whether this is true. So many scurrilous things are mumbled about national candidates these days. … [more]
"Jack Lewis takes the overall literary crown with his new book...there’s a lot more to Lewis’s work than what it feels like to ride motorcycles.” — Ultimate Motorcycling
"Insightful and from the heart ... a driven and much recommended look into the mind and conflict of the next generation of war veterans. " — Midwest Book Review (Reviewer's Choice)