Tim Clark is a writer, blogger, novice political activist, husband and father, from Columbus, Ohio.
He has proudly written for The Ugly Writers, Street Speech, a local homeless advocacy newspaper and Lefty Pop
I thought about lying. Nobody knew anything about me. I could have told them anything I wanted, and they would have never known better, this was before the internet, and I was a long way from Nebraska.
One nuisance about signing up for new sites is entering my age. I have to scroll back through so many years to find the correct year, it begins to resemble a gas pump in reverse. I watch the numbers as I press on the little arrow and remember.
I was always a fan, one of the first albums I owned was Skulls and Roses. The Dead’s second studio album. To this day Grateful Dead Europe 72 is still one of my favorite live discs. I’ve been a fan for a long time, as long as I’ve been a fan of any band.
It was a dark night, and the dawn came wet and cold, it was miserable. In a way the drizzle was worse than real rain, leaving spots on eyeglasses and windshields.
They were immigrants, and dressed neatly, but the man’s right shoe had tape wrapped around the toe. And the little girl’s dress was spotless and neat but worn at the elbows.
There is a mannequin in the basement at work. It moves around, it used to startle me. Now I pretend I don’t notice. And it pretends it doesn’t see me. There are ghosts there, and we both pretend not to notice each other. We have reached an uncomfortable impasse.
He looked a sad, stooped over, carrying a small, compact parcel of disappointment. Gravity was a little more efficient where his feet fell. He seemed to get shorter with each step.
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Even today, when most of our history as a nation was much closer to oppressor than downtrodden, it makes us blush with unvarnished pride.
It was a little more work. Actually, it was a lot more work. Really, I had to do all the work. Since I haven’t gone to the gym since the coronavirus started maybe a little more work is a good idea. I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday morning, and this will give me a little ammunition.
Perspective is everything. How many times do we ignore reality because it makes us uncomfortable? Sometimes we need to listen to the noise, and sometimes we need to see the obvious.
Being in a relationship is like having a job. Good and bad meet, mix, mingle and ferment. It takes turns you never expected when you joined the “team.” There are times it seems like the best place in the world, heaven on earth. Nothing lasts forever, though.
No first use is an imperfect, squishy sort of half step, but it’s a start. It brings the world closer to Further it gives the opportunity for further negotiations.