Bill Brenner

Thirty Years Later, I’m Still Grateful To Children’s Hospital Boston

by Bill Brenner November 9, 2011 Children's issues

I wrote this more than a year ago, but I feel as strongly about it now as I ever have… I wasn’t happy about bringing Duncan to Children’s Hospital in Boston Monday and yesterday. I practically lived there as a kid and don’t enjoy the reminders. Instead, I’ve been reminded of the gifts that place gave me. Duncan needed to have a broken wrist reset and pinned, so in we went. The first thing I…  [Read More]

Facebook Defriending Syndrome Takes A Ridiculous Twist

by Bill Brenner November 7, 2011 Communication Skills

People see Facebook as an online place to hide from the real world. But for a growing number of unstable minds, Facebook IS part of the real world. Mood music: A woman in Iowa was arrested and charged with setting fire to the home of someone who “unfriended” her on Facebook. Here’s the story from Internet Broadcasting (as run on the WMUR website): Jennifer Christine Harris, an elementary school teaching associate in Des Moines, was…  [Read More]

Christian Intolerance Or Universal Snobbery?

by Bill Brenner November 7, 2011 Communication Skills

Though I’m a devout Catholic, I sometimes shake my head in disgust over how some of my Christian brothers and sisters behave. I’ve mentioned before how some in my church community are quick to judge other people and how others seem to think you have to be a member of a specific political party to be entitled to Christ’s love. Democrats are often labeled as abortionists. A friend shared this cartoon this morning and I…  [Read More]

Old-School: A Photo Essay

by Bill Brenner November 4, 2011 The stormy past

Erin recently scanned in a bunch of photos I’ve collected of days long gone. There’s my late brother Michael and friend Sean Marley. There’s me as a fat kid. There’s the old house. Come on in…

Learn From My Mistakes

by Bill Brenner November 4, 2011 Addiction

In all my efforts to get sane a few years ago, I did a lot of stupid things. I’m sharing it with you here so you don’t make the same mistakes: Mood music: http://youtu.be/l4Xx_vjGnlo –Don’t try to control your compulsive binge eating problem by fasting. You won’t make it through the morning, and then you’ll binge like you’ve never binged before. –Don’t mix alcohol with pills that have the strength of four Advil tablets in…  [Read More]

Does This Child Beater Need Help Or A Trip To Hell?

by Bill Brenner November 3, 2011 Children's issues

It’s a video that fills a parent like me with rage: A judge giving his 16-year-old disabled daughter a vicious beating. If you watch the video itself, it’s nothing but terrible. The father is pissed because his daughter was apparently grabbing music and videos off the Internet and proceeds to lash her for several minutes. For much of the video, you hear the daughter screaming. The mom is in the video, too, joining in on…  [Read More]

Being A Misfit Is Your Saving Grace

by Bill Brenner November 2, 2011 Courage

We often come undone when we start comparing our quirk-infested selves to so-called normal people. Instead, we should celebrate our insanity and put it to work for us. Mood music: [spotify:track:3d8yD2C8kNbs54mL9wboE1] I used to despise myself for the things I thought were weird and out of place. The windmill hands. The inability to sit up straight in a chair. My big nose and ears. My laughter toward things others would consider serious and even tragic….  [Read More]

Throwing Away The Blueprints Saved My Creativity

by Bill Brenner November 1, 2011 Adventures in writing

Like many text-book OCD cases, I’ve been known to put massive effort into planning things before doing them — particularly writing. Somewhere along the way, I got more disorganized and started having more fun. Mood music: I think my earlier affinity for over-planning goes back to childhood. I was a prolific drawer, always working massive amounts of detail onto a page. I think I started doing it because in a world full of chaos (vicious…  [Read More]

It Changes In A Second

by Bill Brenner October 31, 2011 Children's issues

This weekend my kids learned that life can change for the worse in a split second, and that there are rarely do-overs. Mood music: Saturday we drove an hour north to Nottingham N.H. for an outdoor gathering of some friends in the security industry. Duncan was delighted to find they had a playground, and ran for the monkeybars. Before any of us had a chance to react, he slipped and landed on his wrist, breaking…  [Read More]

Snowstorm Gratitude

by Bill Brenner October 30, 2011 Faith

It’s 6:14 a.m. and it’s still snowing. But I am big-time thankful for one thing: The power was on when I woke up, and may yet go out. But I managed to get my coffee made first. It’s the little things. Or, for this coffee addict, the huge things. I also stepped outside and found that in my corner of New England, the snow accumulation was not nearly as bad as predicted. Clean up should…  [Read More]

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