Identity
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A Yankee Baseball Game
My annual tribute to my father, Antonio “Tony” Ruiz. My father never took me to a Yankees game when I was a kid. That was the secret burden of resentment I carried for a long time. At some point before… Continue reading
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I Ain’t No Superman
Man, I can’t catch a break. Hard living. First, my knee replacements. Both knees. Then, my recent brush with life-changing trauma, a stroke. It reminded me of my last body-slamming event: a blocked heart and the pacemaker implanted in my… Continue reading
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Four Months
Today marks four months since my mini-stroke. “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell It seems so long ago, but it’s been… Continue reading
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The Great Escape
In a god we trustWhen I was ten years old, as I was praying during Mass performing my duties as an altar boy in the basement church St. Rita of Cascia, kneeling before the raised altar, the gold cross hanging… Continue reading
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Smoke ‘em If You Got ‘em
The first time I saw an American joint was when some guy in the high school gym asked me to pass one along to another guy on the other side of meThat guy seemed awfully anxious to get it like… Continue reading
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space is the place/an ode to Sun Ra
Just past midnight on New Year’s Day in 1980, I witnessed a performance by the late jazz composer, bandleader, pianist, synthesizer player, and poet Sun Ra at D.C. Space in Washington, D.C, under the influence of acid. This is a tribute… Continue reading
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Inspiration
I’ve been told that inspiration for writing is everywhere. Just open your eyes.The person or object in front of you, even when it’s a computer screen or The view of the backyard through your office window. Look up at the… Continue reading
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Fat
This is not a word to be thrown easily at anyone these days. I’m told it’s very disparaging. Obese is the proper term to use. Porky. Falstaffian. Overweight. Plump. Fleshy. Tubby. Roly-poly. What does it matter? We’re all getting to… Continue reading
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Inside My Brain, Through My Heart
A Memory of Joy There are those days when it all seemed rightWhen no storms were overheadThe breeze of a lazy August day enveloped youand You wanted to lie down in Lincoln Park and Hug the person beside you.That summer… Continue reading
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Old(er): An Epic Journey
Part One I sometimes do everything possible to stop from getting old(er) denying the truth in front of me and trying to make life stand still Finding life is just too exciting to stop my body and mind from getting… Continue reading
