Jack was born in the two-fisted, blue collar hamlet of Williamstown, New Jersey. In the pre-television days of sports heroes, his parents would name him after their favorite heavyweight boxer. He was the youngest of four brothers and a sister whose childhood days would unfold against the hardscrabble backdrop of America's Great Depression. In a… Continue reading Jack
Goodbye to a Good Friend
I said goodbye to a good friend today. A friend I could always depend on during tough times. A friend who always managed to lighten the heaviest of moods, who shared warmth whenever an end-of-the-world concern furrowed my brow. When times were good and happiness filled the air, she never failed to add a special… Continue reading Goodbye to a Good Friend
The Mine
Seth had turned the corner in the shaft when he found it. It was dynamite that had been used to hollow out more of the mine shaft, but he’d found the mother-lode. The miner in him worried about the post-explosion ventilation but he shook off the thought. He had to hurry. He could hear the… Continue reading The Mine
Gawd, He Stinks!
Bogie. Ingrid. Casablanca. Need I say more? It was the evening’s offering on TMC and I was looking forward to it. The waitress had just set down my coffee and I was getting ready to frill it up “to taste”, as they say, when I saw him. He was working his way down the aisle and getting… Continue reading Gawd, He Stinks!
The “N” Word
The passage of time bears witness to not only the addition of new words to the vernacular (e.g., "texting"), the change in meaning of some words (e.g., "sick", "dope"), and the level of acceptance of others. The "N" word falls into the latter category. It's heard today more in certain circles than in other demographic… Continue reading The “N” Word
Chalk Dust 