Our Musings category focuses on speculation, reflection and deep thought, covering everything from self-contemplation to humorous views on life in general.
This is the place to submit your thoughts on spiritual matters or philosophical subjects and to share your feelings on any topics you’ve ever pondered or wondered about.
When I was twenty years old my grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed before I turned twenty-one. In all my years leading up to that day no one ever sat me down and taught me how to deal with the pain of loss. There were no classes in school. My mom never explained how it would feel, or how to cope with that pit in your stomach. It was just one of those things I had to figure out on my own. One of the...
Life has a funny way of knocking us all down, making it seem impossible to get back up. Luckily, the human spirit is stronger than disaster, able to withstand things we thought we weren’t capable of. For some of us, life marks its territory in our lives through physical scars. All with names. Dates. Places. Stories. A constant reminder of what’s happened to us through old, puckered skin. Scars aren’t pretty, no matter wha...
Beyond this window the day is bright, but I'm here, surrounded by only Darkness as I walk in the footsteps of those who judge me-- wearing their ignorant stares and whispered innuendos like a shroud. Watching time decay, heart pounding like a fist hammering on my door demanding to be let inside. This door is a two-way street, my friend, nothing allowed in, lest I allow the demon who has branded it home out. And I'm not re...
The Board is changing. The Board will change is perhaps a better way to say it. When the Board changes, the game changes. And when the game changes, no one predicts the outcome because there are new rules in the game. No one can predict the game's winners or losers when the rules are not yet known and discovering the new rules is part of the game. The watchers are hopeful the game will be good for them but they don’t bet...
Do ghosts feel lonely? Everybody knows by now that all of the Toys R Us outlets have been closed. The Toys R Us in Sunnyvale, CA was and still is haunted. The occurrences in this outlet have been well documented and even had a live TV ghost hunt for the nation to watch. Amazingly, the cameras actually filmed a shadow of a man leaning against the shelves watching the ghost hunters do their thing. (Actual photo above). The...
For the benefit of any unsuspecting reader, let me state now that this is NOT an article about how one might become a contented courtesan or smiling strumpet. Nope, not even a titillated trollop. Sorry about any confusion, honest. Truth be told, this assault on good taste and English letters is concerned with the fine art of creating attention grabbing hooks in the opening lines of your next Pushcart Prize winning short s...
Inspired by Rebellious_Soul... Rebs We live in an era of over-abundance right now. Too much of everything. It’s a candy store with endless glass counters filled with chocolates and caramels and sugary what-nots. We don’t even have to take a number. Just walk in and help ourselves. The internet has laid the entire world at our feet. I can be in India or Kenya or the Philippines in a boot-up and a couple of keystrokes. W...
Coming from within the kids' bathroom I heard the unmistakable sounds of children laughing, a pause, some low sounds that I could not quite make out from where I was, then the loud sound of laughter once more. Walking across the classroom, the low sounds became clearer, as a picture was painted as to what the children were doing in the bathroom when they were supposed to be getting changed after having some fun summer wat...
“I am Mother Nature, and I hereby call to order the first annual meeting of the Bureau for Oversight and Observation of Beasts In Existence. Our mission here at B.O.O.B.I.E. is to design and implement the types of animals that shall roam my earth.” “Well, I for one think it’s about time. The plants have taken over this place. There’s not any place to walk anymore.” “Shut up Clyde. You’re the one who came up with ferns.” “...
Christmas. Twinkly lights. Bright colored wrapping paper. Curly-Que ribbons. A tree taking up valuable space in your living room. Now, because of greed and sucker marketing, it lasts for two months instead of one. I hate this time of year. I also hate Thanksgiving, birthdays, weddings and funerals. Usually, anything involving people. I know. Hard to believe I’ve been married to the same person for 48 years and that my fam...
My wife is still in bed as I close the door behind me and leave her to peaceful slumber for a while longer. It's 7:45 AM and I'm late. I jump in the truck with my roll-around briefcase and pull out the driveway headed for work. My mind flashes on the fact that I don't have my glasses on. I know that I don't need them to drive and I can wear my reading glasses at work but still... Less than 100 feet from the end of the dri...
“Somebody!” “Please!” “Please, somebody!” The screams fill my ears as I watch the news video play out. The gunshots punctuate every cry with a hollow shout. My heart beats like a hummingbird’s wings with the knowledge that if we do not fix this - if this just keeps going and we don't change something in our system - my nieces could have to worry about this when they go to school. When I was in elementary school, the most...
When I was only six and my younger brother was two, our father passed away. Since then, my mother and we were dependent upon each other. Our days were difficult. My mother had to work very hard to keep our family together. The income was just enough to cover basic expenses. Until one day, my mother ushered a man into our home. She asked us to call him - FATHER. No, he was just our stepfather. I was nine that year. My step...
