Bill Brenner

My Heart Breaks for the Newtown Officer, But …

by Bill Brenner November 13, 2013 Grief management

It’s hard not to get where Newtown, Conn., police officer Thomas Bean is coming from. He responded to last December’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children were among the brutally slain. He now has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and can’t work. He says he feels dead inside. Mood music: CNN reports that Bean might be fired because Newtown says it can’t keep paying someone who is permanently disabled. A letter CNN obtained from the…  [Read More]

A Fellowship of Narcissists

by Bill Brenner November 12, 2013 Uncategorized

A good friend whose frequent critiques have given me more ideas for blog posts than probably anyone else was at it again this weekend. I made a joke about a mutual friend talking too much about himself. (I was busting balls. That mutual friend is really a humble guy.) To that, my friend the critic asked, “What about people who write about themselves all the time?” Mood music: He’s right. I do write about myself…  [Read More]

Honor the Mental Sacrifice Veterans Have Made

by Bill Brenner November 11, 2013 Gratitude

With another Veterans Day upon us, I want to thank our servicemen and -women for a very specific sacrifice they’ve made. Mental sacrifice is always implied when we thank our veterans for the larger sacrifice of life and limb to protect our freedom. That’s as it should be. Still, as someone who has never seen combat but has struggled with mental illness, I’m especially grateful to troops past and present for carrying the mental burden….  [Read More]

OC/DC

by Bill Brenner November 7, 2013 Lighthearted

A while back I mentioned a problem I was having with my guitars, a problem only someone with OCD would have. Yesterday, a buddy shared a cartoon that illustrates another problem I could find myself dealing with if I ever decide to play live again: Well, that wouldn’t really happen. But it made me laugh. I think that the title should read OC/DC, however. I get the need to have O-C-D together. But it just…  [Read More]

Respectful Disagreement about the Valley Patriot

by Bill Brenner November 6, 2013 News

In recent months, I’ve taken the editor of one of my local newspapers to task over what I’ve seen as his overeagerness to make judgement calls. I unfollowed Tom Duggan on Facebook at one point because I was so pissed off. Duggan and I have since had a conversation, and I want to make sure everyone understands this: I stand by my earlier criticisms. But it was in no way meant as a personal attack….  [Read More]

Illustrating the Red Sox Nation

by Bill Brenner November 5, 2013 Uncategorized

Yesterday I was sick all day. At one point, I watched little bits of nonsense on YouTube, waiting for my brain function and motor skills to wake up. Humor can be as good as the strongest cup of coffee on days like this. Below is something that truly captures the special characteristics of Boston Red Sox fans. It’s a pretty good reflection of Bostonians, period. I say this with total affection. I’m not as rabid…  [Read More]

Therapist Shopping

by Bill Brenner October 31, 2013 Mental health

A few months ago my therapist retired and moved to warmer environs in the south. He said I was managing my OCD well and that I didn’t need therapy until the autumn. Mood music: That last appointment was in the spring, with the season’s increasingly long periods of daylight, the environment I function best in. Now it’s late October, with shorter days, and the seasonal issues are starting to kick in. Sunday I started getting…  [Read More]

Red Sox Player Jonny Gomes: Profile in Fortitude

by Bill Brenner October 30, 2013 Inspiration

I’ll be honest with all you rabid sports fans: I’m not much of a sports guy. While my peers were playing on various ball teams in high school, my recreation was listening to heavy metal, going to concerts and getting into trouble. In adulthood, I’m always happy when the Boston sports teams do well, but I don’t stay up late to watch games or banter with colleagues about sports. I still have an admiration for…  [Read More]

For Those Mourning Colleen Ritzer

by Bill Brenner October 24, 2013 Grief management

I didn’t know Colleen Ritzer, the 24-year-old Danvers High School math teacher found dead in the woods behind the school this week. I also don’t know Philip Chism, the 14 year old charged with murdering her. But I’m affected by this tragedy all the same. My first job as a reporter 20 years ago was at the weekly Danvers newspaper. Andover, Ritzer’s hometown, is where my kids go to school. It’s a town I know well as…  [Read More]

Erin Cox Case: The Rush to Judgement Is a Two-Way Street

by Bill Brenner October 23, 2013 Communication Skills

Some say criticism of North Andover School administrators in the Erin Cox case is a rush to judgement. No one knows what information was revealed behind closed doors, they say. And based on comments from other teens at the drinking party, Cox wasn’t the innocent, good friend the media has painted her to be. On someone’s phone there’s video of Cox drinking and puking, they say. Maybe that’s true. But the rush to judgement is…  [Read More]

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