Poet Reporter
A different kind of reporting, through the eyes of a poet.
Phoning It In
I recently had a disastrous run-in with tech support, and it reminded me of a time when I was waiting tables and the phrase “phoning it in” was popular. As opposed to “dial it in” which has the opposite effect, phoning it in is all about a lack of focus, about doing the minimum and avoiding the real work.
The Easier Path
For every amazing thing you do, think, or imagine, there are countless negative voices that you need to tune out.
It’s About Time
I’m thinking of the line from Our Town where main character Emily says, “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?”
Cute Shoes
My Minnesota friends will know what I’m talking about when I say Thursdays on First.
This is a street fair every Thursday in the summer months in Rochester. They close down First Street to downtown traffic and the businesses set up tents outside their stores to sell their wares. Once a week in the summer, it’s a whole day of music and artists and food, and it still goes on today.
Late Night After Work Club
A short story, almost:
Below are the Minutes of our restaurant workers’ Late Night After Work Club, written on napkins at Zacherl’s Pub.
Partial Minutes from last week’s Late Night After Work Club:
· It is decided that we need to steal a statue and hold it for ransom because that’s funny.
For Love or Money
Well, that was unexpected. For all of you outside of Pennsylvania, I should explain that I’m on the Pittsburgh side of our state, Philadelphia being on the other side. So it’s not my team that went to the Super Bowl. But, along with many of you, I did not see that coming. And now with Valentine’s Day…
The Aftermath of Groundhog Day
Yesterday was Groundhog Day, and we’ve got six more weeks of winter coming. I’m in the minority on this, but I’m glad that winter’s sticking around.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t like being cold. (Who wants to be cold??) But Spring in Pennsylvania means a lot of mud, and
Where Credit is Due
Well, TV commercials have replaced their images of warm, gooey cookies with talk of diets, and we’re back to that morning commute behind the school buses. The holidays, sadly, happily, mercifully, are over.
Fantasy Life
Years ago, I stood in the kitchen of the restaurant where I worked unloading a tray of dirty dishes and listening to the chefs as they discussed their fantasy league stats…
Hostile Territory
Five Man Electrical Band wrote the song “Signs,” which was later famously covered by Tesla, and over the years various artists have borrowed individual lines from the song…
Ill Feelings
Here’s a little grammar for your Tuesday, two very common words that simply need to be used in the right direction: Nauseated and Nauseous…
I Like To Think of It as Charmed, Thank You…
Years ago, I handed out the pens by the dozens to the servers at the downtown restaurants. I’d had them printed with Upside Down Kingdom, my website, and my tagline: Author, Blogger, Poet, Traveler…