Lessons from the past

Dzhokar Tsarnaev’s Age Can’t Shield Him From Justice

April 22, 2013 Lessons from the past

After the elation everyone felt Friday night when the second suspected Boston Marathon bomber was captured after a bloody manhunt, the mood dropped again. Some fellow parents lamented the fact that a 19-year-old kid could do what Dzhokar Tsarnaev is accused of doing. They pictured him curled up in a ball in that backyard boat in Watertown, [...]

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Human Tourniquets And Freaks Who Love Them

March 29, 2013 Communication skills for the crazy

I originally wrote this three years ago. Looking at it again, it’s an important post describing a time when not even best friends were safe from my insanity. I’ve updated it for the present.  Mood music:  TourniquetMarilyn MansonAntichrist Superstar You know the type. They hang  out with people who act more like abusive spouses than [...]

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I Was Wrong About Lance Armstrong

January 15, 2013 Lessons from the past

A few months ago I wrote a post called “Lance Armstrong Was Robbed,” in which I opined that he didn’t deserve to be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. I’m back to tell you I was wrong. Mood music:  Eyes Without A Face – 1999 – RemasterBilly IdolRebel Yell Like most Americans, I’m a [...]

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Sandy Hook Lesson: Be the Change, One Soul at a Time

December 17, 2012 Lessons from the past

Like most of you, I’ve spent a good part of the weekend thinking about the lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. We all want specific solutions that will prevent more of these tragedies, but what we’re dealing with is too big and too gray for that. Mood music:  You’re MissingBruce SpringsteenThe Rising [...]

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‘Fixing OCD’ Article Is Badly Misleading

May 2, 2012 Adventures in writing

An article in The Atlantic called “5 Very Specific Ways to Fix Your OCD” blows it from the start — in the headline. OCD sufferers know damn well that you can’t fix OCD. You can only learn to manage it and make it less of a disrupting force in your life. Mood music:  No More Mr. [...]

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The Monkey Will ALWAYS Be On Your Back

April 25, 2012 Addiction

I’m standing at a bar in Boston with my wife and stepmom. They order wine and I order coffee. My stepmom beams and says something about how awesome it is that I beat my demons. I appreciate the pride and the sentiment. But it’s also dangerous when someone tells a recovering addict that they’ve pulled [...]

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Strong Too Long, Or Weak Too Often?

April 23, 2012 Addiction

There’s a saying on Facebook that depression isn’t a sign of weakness, but simply the result of being strong for too long. Somewhat true — though weakness does feed the beast. Mood music: I’m feeling it this morning. I’ve always taken a certain level of satisfaction from my ability to stay standing in the face [...]

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Two Days, Three Shitty Anniversaries And One Bloody Month

April 19, 2012 Crime and punishment

Earlier this month I wrote about two sad anniversaries: the deaths of Kurt Cobain in 1994 and Layne Staley in 2002. But today — April 19, and tomorrow, April 20 — we have a trio of tragedies to remember. Mood music: Full disclosure: I’m about to steal liberally from Wikipedia. April 19, 1993: Waco, Texas [...]

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Teddy Roosevelt Did It All. What’s Your Excuse?

October 27, 2011 Courage

Today is Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday, which I bring up because his is the ultimate story about staring adversity in the face, grinning and spitting in its eye. Mood music: TR was a sickly boy whose asthma often left him struggling for breath. He could have used that as an excuse early on to avoid life’s [...]

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How To Talk To A Liar Who’s Been Caught

October 12, 2011 Addiction

A reader who recently found the two posts I wrote on addicts as compulsive liars had a sad story to share. Her husband, a compulsive spender, gambler and drinker, lies to her all the time. He apparently sucks at it. She always finds out. Mood music: How, she asked me, does she deal with a [...]

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