The Effects of a Smile

by | Sep 10, 2013 | Vignettes

Have you ever wondered what the effect of a smile has on people? Have you ever noticed what happens when you smile at a total stranger? My wife and I were down at the Hermosa Beach Fiesta over the weekend at a gigantic open air market in which we had set up a booth to...

Growing Up with Weapons

by | Aug 2, 2013 | Vignettes

When I was five years old I was made to follow my daddy around acres of hedgerows, up and over levees, through cornfields and woodlands, an empty 4-10 shotgun in my little arms, a watchful eye on me at all times, ready to jump down my throat if at any moment I became...

A Real Boy

by | Aug 2, 2013 | Vignettes

I woke up feeling drowsy and stiff and instantly felt Papa chipping away at me, a little at a time. I tried to focus in on what he was working on today. I hear him talking about negative space, revealing the beauty inside, so I keep waiting for him to dig deep enough...

A Musician’s Tools

by | Aug 2, 2013 | Vignettes

I have on the wall in my therapy office an old African detergent can with a cruddy piece of stick coming out of the top strung with some found wire. Most folks consider it an odd art piece, but in actuality, it is a living life lesson for my musician clients. As a...

Carrying on the Tradition

by | Jun 1, 2013 | Vignettes

Dear Wonderful Readers, I thought for my first entry I would go back to my very earliest writings as a sensitive young teenager trying to put together his first “book.” I laughed as I pulled this out of my treasure trunk of memories, for I truly have not changed much...