FollowAs some of you may know, my brother, Jeff Rieves, was diagnosed with advanced metastatic melanoma a couple of months ago. Earlier this year, we began realizing something was up due to some uncharacteristic behavior and when he finally got checked out, doctors found multiple tumors throughout his brain and body. There was treatment indicated …
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I Am Not a Sports Fan
It’s the Monday after the Superbowl and I’m dreading it. Why? Because I know that I’ll be peppered with questions like, “Did you see that play last night?” or “Man, ________ is GOAT, isn’t he?” And, I’m going to have dip into my bag of ambiguous responses and say “Oh, man. That was something!”, “You …
Shutdown Rant
For 35 days you held us hostage and jacked my check twice, you motherfucker.And, for what? You caved and didn’t even get a single strand of fence to keep out those imaginary Mongolians that came to you in a fever dream. Meanwhile, my Shylocks want their pound of fleshand my cupboard looks like Mother Hubbard’s …
50 Rules for Being a Good Man
The internet is filled with rules that men should follow. Unfortunately, many of them are loaded with frivolous and/or misogynistic bullshit. And, generally, these lists seem to focus on being a “real” man, rather than a good one. So, I decided to make up my own. Will following this list will make a good man? …
Advent is Upon Us
An American Sonnet of My Own
I haven’t watched a single basketball game since you left me on that Tuesday too many years ago because that was where we would connect when the chasm between us yawned wider than the Grand Canyon and neither of us was willing to reach out to the other one and one bad call would bridge the …
F*ck That Noise
Well, beloved, conservatives showed us just what they think of women this past Saturday. Despite what should have a damning list of accusations of sexual misconduct, up to and including sexual assault, the Senate voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court anyway. I don’t know about you, but right now, I …
Any Port in a Storm
You may or may not know that, after an extensive break (about 35 years), I have returned to school for an English degree. This semester, I’m taking a class in writing poetry. The following prose poem is one of my efforts for that class. I could see her lips move, but the words were buried …
The Tone Police
I think it’s safe to say that, right now, public discourse isn’t at it’s loftiest point in our history. Up until last week, I told myself that things could certainly be worse, saying “Hey, no one’s taken a stick to a colleague on the Senate floor while a compatriot pulled a pistol to keep everyone else …
The Guy’s Guide to Naming Your Junk
Usually essays like this are titled “The Gentleman’s Guide to _________”. While writing such an study would pose an interesting challenge, it’s not realistic. Not only do gentlemen refrain from naming their junk, they would never refer to their wedding tackle like that. In fact, a true gentleman works hard to give the impression that …