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brian
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Feb 29, 2012 • When it all comes down to it (such a a cliche), what do you have? You have yourself. No one can make you happy. No one can make you write more. No one can shower you with enough praise to get you through the day. No, in the end you only have yourself to rely...
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brian
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Dec 30, 2011 • Four o’clock is the hardest time. That was when I took her out for her afternoon constitutional. I patterned my day around the four o’clock hour: gym sessions were pushed back, social obligations (what there were of them) were delayed, work was cut short. The reward was, of course, seeing her bound up to me,...
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brian
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Dec 18, 2011 • “To sorrow I bade good morrow, And thought to leave her far away behind; But cheerly, cheerly, She loves me dearly; She is so constant to me, and so kind. I would deceive her, And so leave her, But ah! she is so constant and so kind.” ~Keats, from Endymion Welcome to Christmas week. Hang...
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Dec 15, 2011 • ” Day after day, give me clouds and rain and grey. Give me pain if that’s what’s real–it’s the price we pay to feel. The price of love is loss, but still we pay–we love anyway…” from the song, “Light,” in Next to Normal I was cruising through a friend’s Facebook account and came upon...
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brian
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Dec 12, 2011 • There are no words, I suppose, to accompany this poem, written and recited by acting legend Jimmy Stewart on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show in 1981. Maybe it’s my state of mind lately…
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brian
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Nov 30, 2011 • My friend has resigned from his job at the New York State Education Department. He was there for eight years. An even bigger friend of mine left Voorheesville after nearly nine years working with me. A best friend retired two years ago after being with me for over eleven years. The list goes on. And...
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brian
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Nov 17, 2011 • “I have an idea but I’m not sure I believe it. Maybe I wanted to learn how to think. Writing is a concentrated form of thinking. I don’t know what I think about certain subjects, even today, until I sit down and try to write about them. Maybe I wanted to find more rigorous ways...
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brian
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Nov 12, 2011 • Balance is everything. Especially in guaranteeing that your life is not messed up and out of sync. I think I’ve come to that realization lately because I see so many of my friends whose lives are out of sync. It’s not uncommon as adults to be in this mess, after all. Life has its demands...
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brian
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Nov 1, 2011 • November. The month that turns a writer’s heart to all kinds of disparate things. Snow (apparently), turkey, football, writing a novel in thirty days, raking leaves, etc. Yes, writing a novel in thirty days is in there, too, because it’s National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. And it’s pretty wild. The point here is simple:...
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brian
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Oct 29, 2011 • A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over...
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brian
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Oct 22, 2011 • Writing, as in life, is about being flexible. Whether you’re talking about love, work, or writing, the ability to recognize differences between us and to not only accept them but to embrace and celebrate them are keys to a long, healthy life. This is not earth-shatteringly new wisdom by any stretch, but for some of...
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brian
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Oct 10, 2011 • I don’t normally come right out and write posts to people. Bad form. Huge potential for unwanted anger directed at me (been there, can you tell?). But this post is different. It is to someone. I could try to whitewash it as a reflection on life and commitment to writing, I could add the tag...
