How often do you hear a song on the radio that can take you back to a specific place and time in your past? A song that is so indicative of a specific memory that you can, even if just for a moment, feel like you are instantly transported to a happier moment. This morning, on my way to work, the Billy Joel song “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” came on the radio and that feeling rushed over me. Most songs by Billy Joel, from his 1970s phase, will transport me…
What happens when you realize your heroes are a bunch of wankers?
I know that rock stars and actors are people. I know they are real live people with families and their own opinions and that the person they portray on stage is just a character. I know this. Most of the time if the character they are in public is a misogynist or a jagoff, you can ignore it because that’s just their stage persona. That’s not the real them. But what do you do when they’re not really playing a character? What do you do when they’re an honest to…
Buffalo, Then (Part One)
Certain neighborhoods can be a magnet to those that inhabit them multiple times over several years. Main Street in Buffalo is no exception. Specifically the section located between Hertel Avenue and Niagara Falls Blvd. In the 1990’s, Main Street was a destination for high school and college students alike. The main meeting place was a coffeehouse called Stimulance. Inhabiting the space next door to Talking Leaves bookstore, Stimulance offered not only some of the best coffee and bagels in town (they mixed, boiled, and baked them in house) but also…
Tech Reliant
When did I become so reliant on technology? I feel like I cannot do anything without some form of tech assisting me or literally doing the thing for me. And so when access to technology is taken away from me (cell service drops, wifi isn’t available, laptop crashes, etc.), I don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t know how to function without the tech! I wasn’t always like this. I used to resist technology. I waited as long as humanly possible to get a cell phone and to…
Trying to Process
In my shoes, a walking sleep And my youth I pray to keep Heaven sent hell away No one sings like you anymore I’ve had a few weeks to deal with it and I don’t think I’ll ever process the fact that Chris Cornell is dead. I’ve read posts on social media, articles on the Internet, and even listened to interviews of those who claim to be close friends or family. None of that has helped any. Talking about it has made it more real rather than provide any…