Bill Brenner

OCD Gag Gifts

by Bill Brenner May 13, 2011 Lighthearted

Though OCD is no laughing matter for the sufferer, I personally like a good gag that pokes fun at my disorder. If you can’t laugh at the problem, you’re going to have a much tougher time getting a handle on things. But it has to be a gag that’s cleverly done. The OCD hand sanitizer someone gave me for Christmas is an example of a good one: Repeated hand cleaning was never my biggest OCD…  [Read More]

Giving In To Kids In Pain

by Bill Brenner May 13, 2011 Children's issues

Sean came home yesterday with some new headgear from the orthodontist. It’s painful for him because its new and his mouth is still adjusting to it. He has to wear it 14 hours a day to realign some teeth that sprouted in the wrong spots. Last night he complained that it was painful. We gave him some Tylenol and he went to sleep. But Erin and I felt awful. A parent never wants to see…  [Read More]

Facebook Dysfunction: A Family Affair

by Bill Brenner May 11, 2011 Adventures in writing

Let’s face it: We all have connections on Facebook that we constantly consider defriending because they say and do irritating things. I have no doubt there are people out there who feel that way about me. Mood music: I have no problem with people un-friending me. Not anymore, anyway. At one point, I had to admit that my obsessive-compulsive demons were latching onto the Facebook friend count, and that each loss of a connection felt…  [Read More]

The Priest Who Walked Away

by Bill Brenner May 11, 2011 Faith

In the decade I’ve lived in Haverhill, Mass., I’ve seen the best and worst sides of the Catholic Church. On the ugly side, there were priests who played a part in the sex abuse that ultimately blew up in Cardinal Law’s face. There are parishioners who get so caught up in church politics that they forget what they’re truly there for, and they make life miserable for others. There was the priest who used church…  [Read More]

“Do Something Every Day That Scares You”

by Bill Brenner May 9, 2011 Courage

During some leadership training at work a few months ago, the facilitators urged us to follow the advice of Eleanor Roosevelt and “Do something every day that scares you.” Now comes this new Sixx A.M. album and a song  called “Are You With Me Now” with the line, “Find the places that scare you, come on I dare you…” Mood music:  A cosmic reminder to get out of my comfort zone? Perhaps. But it’s a…  [Read More]

Mothers

by Bill Brenner May 8, 2011 Family

Here’s a celebration of the moms in my life — the ones I can’t live without and the ones I don’t talk to anymore. Mood music: <object width=”640″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/eKLAt3XO03s?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKLAt3XO03s&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> There’s my mother. We don’t talk these days ( I covered the reasons in a post last year) but I want to thank her for doing her best with the tools she had at the time. Having kids like us wasn’t…  [Read More]

Don’t Let Politics Kill Friendships

by Bill Brenner May 6, 2011 Political discourse

This is based on the heated debate that followed the death of bin Laden. But it rings especially true today, given the political animosities from the left and right. Yesterday I got into a Facebook tussle with an old friend over a political disagreement. I used the word “bullshit” and regret it now. It flies in the face of what I’ve learned about people and politics. The subject was the bin Laden death photos and…  [Read More]

Morbid Curiosity

by Bill Brenner May 5, 2011 Political discourse

My tirade against Michele Mcphee and the bin Laden death photos yesterday got me thinking. Maybe part of my rage was coming from an uncomfortable truth about myself. Mood music: <object width=”640″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/iVr5RtEqpc0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVr5RtEqpc0&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> I’ve always had a morbid curiosity about blood-and-guts images. I’m nothing special there. A lot of people share that trait. That’s why you see so much spam posing as pictures of a dead bin Laden. The spam…  [Read More]

An Insult To 9-11 Victims? Now That’s Stupid

by Bill Brenner May 4, 2011 Political discourse

Those who knew me 20-plus years ago will tell you I was one angry guy. I had a chip on my shoulder the size of Texas, and regularly thought about how awesome it would be to get my revenge on people who I believed wronged me at the time. Back then, I would have craved seeing a picture of Osama bin Laden with his head blown off. I didn’t die on 9-11, obviously. I didn’t…  [Read More]

Your Addiction Is Doing Push-ups

by Bill Brenner May 4, 2011 Addiction

I watched an interesting interview Nikki Sixx did with Dr. Drew recently. Sixx talked about his addictions and how he always has to be on guard. Dr. Drew followed that up with a line that rings so true: “Your addiction is doing push ups right now.” <object width=”853″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/NjIbHmYLiyA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjIbHmYLiyA&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> I know that as a binge-eating addict following the 12 Steps of Recovery, I can relapse any second. That’s…  [Read More]

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