When I was first informed that I would no longer have a DAY JOB, I was at a loss. With very few breaks, I’ve spent decades going into work and counting on my EARNINGS to pay the bills. That was a big part of the pattern of my life. I started to try to find … Continue reading
For as long as I can remember, Halloween has been my favorite holiday. My earliest scar is under my left eye – when I was somewhere under four years old, I fell on some cement steps while trick-or-treating. The cut wasn’t stitched – it was held together with a wooden clip to heal – I … Continue reading
This is not about money – not directly, anyway. The United States has been running at a deficit for years – it seems that our government can always find reasons to spend more money than we have. Occasionally politicians will go on about the dangers of defcit spending, but not enough of them to actually … Continue reading
You don’t prove you’re right by silencing the opposition. This has been tried throughout history, and does nothing but slow down progress. Sure, the people resisting truth to preserve their short-term self-interest may retain power for a little bit longer, but eventually it has to be admitted that Galileo was right, and that the Earth … Continue reading
Will we ever get back to normal? Societies have gone through all sorts of upheavals throughout history. When the upheaval part is over, we try to return to what was normal before (or at least to what we remember it as being.) Depending on how widespread that upheaval was, we might succeed in that return, … Continue reading
This last year or so has been a rough one for us all. The PANDEMIC. LOCKDOWNS that still somehow allowed a year of RIOTS in the streets. An strangely irregular ELECTION , with a RESULT that half the country still doesn’t believe, and a new POTUS who seems intent on upending everything the previous administration … Continue reading
How do you know what day it is? Sure, you can look at your watch, or on your computer (in that TINY little text in the corner of the screen) or phone and see date and day-of-week information, but I don’t mean how do you find out. I mean how do you KNOW? The day-of-the-week … Continue reading
Getting back to normal here in Dallas – at least as far as the weather goes. We’ve been above freezing now for over a week (hitting the 70’s again.) The groundhog has apparently rescinded his decree for us after that one frozen week. Some groceries disappeared from the shelves during that strange week. My one … Continue reading
We humans are creatures of habit. Habits are patterns we develop that help us navigate our environment (at least the good ones are.) Our brains are taxed by having to make constant decisions, so we establish behaviors that keep us from having to think – we operate on autopilot in regards to what’s stable around … Continue reading
“You don’t get out much.” If you think about that standard joke – well, really, it’s a put-down – it’s telling YOU that something undesirable happens to people when they don’t spend time out and about in the world, and instead spend all their time sealed up in whatever sort of box they’ve been isolated … Continue reading
William Mangieri's Writing Page 