The stormy past

Layne Staley, 11 Years Later

April 4, 2013 Addiction

“What’s my drug of choice? Well, what have you got?” –Layne Staley, Alice in Chains This week marks 11 years since Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley was found dead. Mood music: Like Kurt Cobain, Staley had a big impact on me in the early 1990s. But while I identified with Cobain’s depression, I identified [...]

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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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Don’t Go Away Mad

March 28, 2013 Gratitude

A funny thing happens when people share stories of the not-so-happy moments of their lives: You walk away thinking they’ve experienced nothing but tragedy. In reality, there are plenty of uneventful pages in between the drama. Mood music:  Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)Mötley CrüeDr. Feelgood 20th Anniversary [Expanded Version] One time I led [...]

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My Revere Attitude

March 12, 2013 The stormy past

I could tell you I’m a real bad-ass because I grew up in Revere, Mass. But that would be a lie. Since I’ve reconnected with quite a few of my old Revere neighbors of late, it seems appropriate that I feature some of the blog posts that focus on my Point-of-Pines childhood. Mood music:  Cowgirl [...]

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Laughing off the Emotionally Scarring Back Stories

March 11, 2013 The stormy past

When I first opened up about events that scarred me for life, I worried about how it would be perceived. Would I be seen as a whiny, attention-seeking weakling? The reaction was almost entirely the opposite, which has helped me look at my own challenges with better humor. Mood music:  Psycho Therapy – Remastered Album [...]

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Two-Alarm Fire at My High School

January 9, 2013 The stormy past

There was a two-alarm fire last night at Northeast Metro Tech, the place where I attended high school. Back in my day, it was called Northeast Regional Vocational High School or, as most of us called it, the Voke. Mood music:  Yesterdays – Live VersionGuns N’ RosesLive Era ’87-’93 I have good and bad memories [...]

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For A Girl Recently Diagnosed With Crohn’s Disease

May 3, 2012 Children's issues

The daughter of close friends just found out she has Crohn’s Disease. She’s suffering a lot right now, and I know exactly what she’s going through. This post is for her. Mood music:  The Way It IsTeslaThe Great Radio Controversy Hello, my young friend. I’m sorry that you’re hurting so much right now. I was [...]

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A Crohn’s Disease Attack, Put To Music

April 24, 2012 Coping tools

During a severe Chrohn’s Disease attack in the mid-1980s — around the time I was discovering Van Halen‘s older albums — I found one song that really personified what I was feeling. It’s the final song on the band’s debut album from 1978, which is also the year I was first attacked by this disease. [...]

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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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