Musings of a Wandering Writer

Dear America, I have previously mentioned my love for flawed things, but there is something uniquely wonderful about characters in art who exemplify what it means to be human. Just for a bit of clarification, when I say "human" I mean a character in a story who can demonstrate both good and bad with a fleshed out personality. Why I would argue that these are the best types of characters is that they are the most unpredictable and also the most relatable to us as an audience. Now, this doesn't mean that I'm saying we can't have heroes and everyone needs to be an average schlub like me, but I think that if we can't connect to a character, then we can't really grasp the stakes of a story or understand the world it takes place in. An example that immediately comes to mind for me of a "hero" that exemplifies humanity is Al Pacino's character, Lt. Vincent Hanna in the film, Heat . Hanna at first appears as your typical over-worked L.A.P.D. dete...

Dear America, It's times like this where I start to lament over the fact that there are things I wish I could go back and do over again. It seems as though things keep getting put on hold in order to meet some new deadline, which is immediately followed up by another deadline. I was going to visit Japan, but then work got in the way. I was going to start exercising more and then the Coronavirus happened. I'll finally get back to writing books when I get my degree, but then I might hold off more when I pursue getting another degree. I would've asked her out, but I needed to wait for that mythical "right time." It reminds me of the musings of a different type of wanderer... Someday? Someday my  dream  will come? One night you will wake up and discover it never happened. It's all turned around on you. It never will. Suddenly you are old. Didn't happen, and it never will, because you were never going to do it anyway. You'll push it into memory and then...

Dear America, Good morning. I'm not sure where you are when you're reading this, but I hope this finds you well. It's a rainy Sunday morning here and it's one of those times when I can truly just savor the moment. Despite living in the 21st Century, with all of its technical marvels like Keurig coffee-makers and CSI: Miami re-runs, I still find myself frequently in awe of something as ordinary as rainfall. It's not like it's something I haven't seen before, but sometimes I still find myself just sitting next to a window sipping coffee while watching the drops fall.  I'm hoping to see a friend today, although we haven't spoken in a while. A while back, she mentioned something that has frequently occupied my thoughts for some time. We were discussing what to expect from the future and she made a comment that she wanted "to do something that matters." As usual when I'm around most classy ladies, I found myself unable to come up with a ...

Dear America, For the past few days, I have been pondering quite a bit about the term "compromise," especially as it pertains to relationships. I think an intense desire for control is pretty par for the course when it comes to the human condition. With that said, I would also argue that the struggle to come to terms with how other people behave may be one of the greatest obstacles humanity has to overcome. It certainly doesn't help that we have social media and television telling us what we should expect as opposed to what is real, but I won't go down that road again (you can read my earlier post if you want to know how I really feel about that). First and foremost, ladies and gentlemen, you're never going to make someone change who they are. You can ask, cajole, threaten, and bribe, but at the end of the day it's their choice as to who they want to be. Even then, they have to really want to change if they're actually going to do it. Second, we ...

*Note from the author: Although it will be much rarer than my Dear America series, I intend to leave behind some short stories I have been working on and writing. This article is my introduction and a taste to stories to come. Enjoy! You find yourself in a dark abyss in which only a dull hollow ringing can be heard as smoothly cut obsidian caresses your bare feet. There are no stars here, as you’re not in space. No fish to be seen either, as you’re not underwater. Perhaps you are underground, but this is not clear. What is clear is that you know you don’t belong here. No one belongs here, and yet here you are. You wander for a time, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. Perhaps the calming comfort of light or the warmth of something soft. These sensations escape you, but to stay where you are would mean to surrender to the darkness that has engulfed you. It is after a great deal of wandering that something catches your eye. A faint, orange glow to your left. You turn and ...

Dear America, I think it's about time we had a serious discussion on identity. It's hard enough to figure out who or what I am when there's a constant deluge of information out there saying what various groups think I should be. Back in the day, the biggest concern was Star Magazine and the neighbor's wife's new dress, but now we have Facebook, Twitter, the Kardashians, and whatever it is that John Legend is tiktoking about. I could understand if these "icons" gave me something to strive for, but it's only partially real in a real world. I swore off most social media years ago because of this very issue. On Instagram, we pack our photo albums with the latest touched up selfie with at least two filters and a slight addition of photoshop just to make sure our junk really stands out. Meanwhile, on Facebook I'll mention that latest promotion without mentioning the fact that my kids are a mess and the Misses may be sleeping with her boss. In the end...

Dear America, Although this will inevitably date itself, I feel like I need to write something about this whole Coronavirus outbreak. Thankfully, I have been one of the fortunate ones to not get sick and keep working, but it hasn't been lost on me that there are a lot of people that haven't been as lucky. I've had a few friends that either got sick or had their jobs in jeopardy and it's left me in almost a point of endless anxiety. This whole quarantine and the stay-at-home orders have been sort of constant reminders too. As a bit of a shut-in, I figured I wouldn't mind the whole telework thang, but I absolutely hate it. Call it what you like, but I actually appreciate what I do more when it's in an actual office instead of at home on a couch. Until this whole thing lifts, I feel as though a cloudy malaise has drifted over my world. Like Lizzo, it just won't go away, no matter much you shout and plead at the radio. In all seriousness though...I look fo...

Dear America, I'd like to pose to you one of the greatest questions mankind has faced since the dawn of the second half of the Twentieth Century: "Do these jeans make my ass look big?" Now, I am dead serious when I bring this up. Lately, I've been hearing a lot about how people need to open up more and simply communicate how they feel. Frankly, I think the advent of social media took that recommendation and ran with it as now we're communicating too much. Heck, you're reading some communication right now (thanks by the way). I think that silence has some really great aspects that applies to communication. As an American and a fan of hyperbole, I'll be the first to admit that I exaggerate in how I speak and write from time to time. I think a little silence adds weight to words when they finally come out. Think about that first time someone said "I love you." Sweet Jesus, that was some powerful stuff, right? Unfortunately, the more you hear it ...

Dear America, For the past couple of months I have felt as though the walls are closing in all around me! For the past four years, I have been taking college courses while working full-time and it has been a bit of a pain. I wouldn't be the first to say that I'm a perfectionist, so I've found myself pushing hard in two areas of my life while trying to salvage some sense of a social life at the same time. It hasn't been easy, and my journey to a degree is far from over, so there have been some rough patches. As a fan of the Daoist philosophy, I have always appreciated the phrase to "be like water," especially when things get the better of me. Taking things one step at a time can really help, and that's exactly what I do when things get too bad. Man can only do so many things at a time, so prioritize and keep focused. What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Do you bring in help? Some people withdraw. There's no perfect answer, I imagine. Sometim...

Good morning America, How are you on this fine morning? Those who know me know that I can't stand rushing. If there was one good thing about the show, Farscape , it might have been Zhaan's mantra of "all good things come with time and patience." There's something to be said about the wise words of a bald and blue alien, I think. Do you find yourself rushing and always on the move?  Listen, I'm not the kind of guy that is going to tell you to "wake up and smell the roses," but sometimes we get so caught up in everything that maybe we could use a break that consists of more than a Kit-Kat bar. Today, I found myself stuck in traffic and the impending build-up of road rage was right around the corner. It was pouring out and the rain was pounding around me as I sat in my car waiting for some jackass to figure out where "drive" is on his automatic transition. Well, with nowhere to go, it gave me a chance to check things out and see that a...