Hey cool! While cleaning out a box of collected crap in my apartment, I came across this letter I must have found in my dad’s house:
Mopey Musings on My Dead Father’s Birthday
My father would have been 76 today, except that he died two years and one day ago. Being from Philadelphia, silly as it is, I would have celebrated his 76th as an extra-special birthday. Mourning and grief are reasonable. Mourning and grief are irrational. I make decisions to feel and behave a certain way, but…
Seventh Grade English Writing Assignment: “English: Descriptive Language”
Here’s another elementary school assignment I typed up. In this one, I had to try to cram in examples of descriptive language and identify them for the teacher. Blah. I left my old notes in. I’m pretty sure from the language used that I didn’t take the assignment too seriously—and after reading the teacher’s notes,…
I Had Minor Surgery on My Leg Today
The procedure is called varicose vein ablation, or “VNUS Closure™.” I have a family history of blood clots, which I’ve been taking into account in recent health decisions (avoiding hormonal birth control, exercising more to increase cardiovascular health, etc.). The pulmonary embolism my mom suffered a few months ago spurred me to check out treatment…
Dear Morgan Freeman-loving Atheists: Race Blindness Doesn’t Solve the Race Problem
This post sat in my Drafts folder for more than a year ‘cuz I’m a chicken who generally prefers to avoid spending time in internet debates on contentious topics. But now I’m trying to clean up my Drafts folders, so here it is. A couple days before Martin Luther King Jr. day, a skeptic friend…
Fourth Grade English Writing Assignment: Swimming
Sept. 14, 1989 Grade 4 Debbie Goddard English It was really hard for me to learn how to swim. Some people are born swimmers. I wasn’t. I sank like a rock. Once I slipped and fell and hit my head. It was very tireing. The next day I couldn’t sink!
Grade School Story: “The Boy that Santa Forgot”
I found copies of the story below when I was cleaning out my dad’s house last year. (Describing him as a “hoarder” is understatement.) I think I wrote it in sixth grade or so. “They see us rollin’. They hatin’.” My family was relatively poor when I was a kid—welfare, food stamps, hand-me-down clothing, and chewed-up…
The Cheesesteak Diaries, Chapter 2: Elmwood Taco & Subs, Buffalo, NY
It’s been a while since I felt compelled to try getting a good cheesesteak in the Buffalo area, but after jonesing hard for a tasty sandwich this week, it was time to make another attempt. A coworker today suggested I try the sandwiches at Elmwood Taco & Subs, just a few minutes from my apartment,…
Different, Yet Still the Same: My Fourth Grade English Writing Assignments
I created this blog a year ago (September 11, 2011) partly because I wanted a casual environment to practice writing in. Since last year, I’ve written twelve posts here, seven on Skepchick, and one for the CFI On Campus blog—the most I’d ever blogged, I guess, but I need to write more often. While unpacking…
Portraits in Chalk at a Karaoke Bar: CFI Interns Stef and Tony
A couple weeks ago I took the two CFI summer interns, Stef and Tony, to the classic Buffalo bar Klub Karaoke. (Wow, that site is dated.) We had an hour to kill before Stef had to go to the bus station; a karaoke dive bar seemed like a “FUN!!” way to pass the time. The website…