Bill Brenner

The Sinister Minister’s Definition of Normal

by Bill Brenner May 4, 2011 Mental health

The news of Osama bin Laden’s death makes me wonder: Are we all hoping now that things will go back to normal, to the way life was before 9-11?  I can’t help but think of wars of the past, and how there was always a craving to “go back to normal.” Mood music: <object width=”640″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”https://www.youtube.com/v/x19KvsqI4Zc?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=x19KvsqI4Zc&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> One of the better examples of our craving for normal was in…  [Read More]

Had He Lived

by Bill Brenner May 3, 2011 Gratitude

Today would have been my brother’s 45th birthday. I sometimes wonder what he’d be doing and saying in the crazy world we inhabit today. Mood music: <object width=”640″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ZADcJdFY-0w?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=ZADcJdFY-0w&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> Let’s go back to 1984, the year he left us. He probably would have been amused to find me hanging out with Sean Marley and listening to Motley Crue and Def Leppard. He would have noticed my widening girth…  [Read More]

Sarah Jones Memorial Service Cancelled

by Bill Brenner May 2, 2011 Uncategorized

Just got a text from Deb Jones informing me that the Thursday afternoon memorial service for her daughter, Sarah, has been canceled “because of the ongoing investigation” into her death. There’s no word as yet as to when the service will happen. This has to be a huge blow to the Jones family, and my heart goes out to them. Please keep them in your prayers. For those wondering just what this is all about:…  [Read More]

Osama bin Laden’s Death And The Importance of Closure

by Bill Brenner May 2, 2011 Grief management

I just wrote a blog post on @CSOonline about bin Laden’s death and how, in my opinion, it doesn’t change things. My good friend Alan Shimel read it and immediately took issue with what I said: “Sorry, it does change everything. A sense of closure that I didn’t even realize I was craving all of these years,” he wrote. He can understand the craving for closure better than I can on this matter. He lost…  [Read More]

More Kid Wisdom

by Bill Brenner May 1, 2011 Children's issues

Children continue to simplify life’s complexities for me, and this time I have video to prove it. But let’s start with a little history, courtesy of my younger son: The story of Duncan’s birth goes something like this: Erin’s water broke in the car as I sped over the train tracks on Rosemont Street in Haverhill. Once at the hospital, as Erin was propping herself up to get out of the car, I accidentally slammed…  [Read More]

Crohn’s Disease in Revere, Mass.

by Bill Brenner May 1, 2011 Crohn's Disease

An old friend from Revere came over last night, and somewhere in the conversation the subject turned to Crohn’s Disease and why so many of our old friends have it. <object width=”640″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1eqkNuCjiHw?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=1eqkNuCjiHw&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> I’ve had the disease since the 1970s, and my struggles with it are well documented in this blog. But my friend noted how many of our friends from the Point of Pines, Oak Island and…  [Read More]

Sean and Duncan Get A Lesson From The One-Armed Drummer

by Bill Brenner April 30, 2011 Children's issues

It started with Sean and Duncan doing what they usually do in the car — taunting each other. Sean told Duncan he has ADHD. Duncan didn’t like that. Mood music: The fact of the matter is that we don’t know what Duncan has yet. He’s too young for an accurate diagnosis. Like everyone else, he has his challenges to overcome, and we’re working with him on it. Clearly, one of my weekend tasks is to…  [Read More]

OCD and ADHD Linked? Maybe

by Bill Brenner April 29, 2011 Children's issues

I recently wrote about our challenges with Duncan and how I often curse myself for a lack of patience with him, given my own history with OCD. This morning I came across a column from  Dr. Keith Ablow that might explain a lot. Mood music (Still some coding weirdness with the video embedding, but the music works): <object width=”640″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/MDiF3POJdyU?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=MDiF3POJdyU&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> Let’s start with a few paragraphs from Ablow’s column:…  [Read More]

Sarah Jones Memorial Service

by Bill Brenner April 28, 2011 Uncategorized

Since writing about my old friends, the Jone family, and the death of their daughter Sarah, some readers have asked what I knew about a memorial service. This morning, Deb Jones posted some details on Facebook: We finally have a day and a location for Sarah’s memorial service. It will be Thursday, May 5th, @ Bisbee – Porcella Funeral Home, 549 Lincoln Avenue, Saugus, MA, 01906. It is most likely going to be early evening,…  [Read More]

Over-scheduled Kids: It’s Not The Activity, It’s The Parents

by Bill Brenner April 28, 2011 Children's issues

I was talking to a co-worker yesterday about all the activities our kids are involved in these days. Boy Scouts. Sports. Martial Arts. Are we over-scheduling our kids these days? We couldn’t help but wonder. Mood music (Pardon the coding gibberish around the video. There’s a glitch I haven’t figured out yet, but the music plays just fine): <object width=”640″ height=”510″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/jyb8pMsyPFw?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=jyb8pMsyPFw&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]</object> As a kid, I resisted activities like…  [Read More]

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