Category Archives: Uncategorized

On this my 53rd birthday, I’m thankful for the following: Family – and that’s not just blood relatives. Laughter – there’s been a lot of that this weekend. Self-forgiveness…it’s very powerful and freeing. Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream – self explanatory. Otto’s naps…..he looks so incredibly peaceful. Cloudy days with no rain….I canContinue reading “8 things, based on 5+3.”

Greetings from an undisclosed location in the Northeast! If ever there was a place to go to process a lot of emotional information, this is the place! One of the challenges of blogging/journaling is how to write about the emotions/experiences on any given day without it coming across as narcissistic. Writing is incredibly therapeutic, butContinue reading “there is no i in blog.”

Had the opportunity to see two very different but outstanding concerts this week…Boz Scaggs and Chrissy Metz of “This is Us”….to say that both concerts knocked me on my ass is a true understatement. Box Scaggs played a number of blues tunes on the gig, including “Drowning in the Sea of Love”, which he performedContinue reading “This is 53.”

The newest trend in car paint color is the “flat” color look….new cars have the non metallic paint, popular in grey and military green. It’s a unique look, in that it’s still very sharp, without being too flashy. At 3pm this afternoon while driving home from Tropical Smoothie, I saw a 2023 Kia Sorrento withContinue reading “the 3pm paint analogy.”

I decided to write again. I wanted to write again. Truth be told, I really needed to write again. I’m currently sitting poolside at the indoor pool at the Fairfield Inn in Scranton Pennsylvania. In the barely 24 hours that I’ve been back in Scranton, I’ve found an incredibly unexpected reason for having such incredibleContinue reading “my weekend in scranton.”

A few weeks ago, I found an unopened letter that my mom wrote to me back in early 2011, when I was in the process of moving out of my house with Michal in Lancaster. I stuck it in a box while packing, and I totally forgot about it. Without going into great detail, myContinue reading “the winds of (name) change.”

Never have I been so thankful to have a blog title without any CAPS. Here’s the scary part….this blog tried to capitalize Urkel as a recognized name. Are you fucking kidding me? The reason that I say HATE (and I know it’s a very strong word) is that for the majority of my life, IContinue reading “carlton urkel…..I HATE that motherf%#*&@$!!!”

7 more years. In 7 years, I’ll be 59 1/2, and I’m going to retire. I would love to say that I’ve had an illustrious career, but honestly I haven’t. My career has had some incredible highs (as well as some truly demoralizing lows), but it’s allowed me to pay my bills and learn someContinue reading “sorry kermit, sometimes it just sucks being green.”

Otto and I have our morning ritual – sometimes it starts at 6:30 am, and I’m not a fan of when it starts at 4am. We do our morning stroll, so that Otto can stretch and do his business, and we get some fresh air and exercise. Some days this goes very smoothly, and otherContinue reading “the march of the dog walkers.”

On my 8th birthday on August 15th, 1977 (the same day my friend and fellow musician Jenna Marotta was born!), my mom gave me the Chuck Mangione “Feels So Good” album that truly helped set a path for me. Call it divine intervention or whatever you want to call it. I started playing trumpet inContinue reading “why chuck mangione will always be my “spirit musician.””