That’s for old apples and oranges long past the “sell by” date, or the last dregs of a gallon of milk in the ‘fridge. I may “turn a little sour” in my old age, but I won’t curdle to cheese in any way. The things I’ve done in my life may curdle your blood if you hear ‘em, but that’s just Bill being Bill.

In a habit started somewhere between my ages…

Another version of the “perspective thing”. It came to me today as I was “counting all my troubles and woes”, to steal an expression from a very old song. Maybe I’m enjoying a true “benefit” you don’t have. If so, I think I’m glad for you … but I’m not positive on that, either.

If you’ve followed any of my travails here in the blog you’ll recall…

There’s an old story used many times, (at least, by me, and I’m sure others have, too), to pass along a concept.

A man died and went to hell. He approached Satan’s desk to be admitted and, as he was about to speak, Satan said, “This is what I have for you.” He pulled a large handle next to the desk. A trap door opened beneath the man’s feet…

Traffic blocked as cops coax man down from pole … Another cry for help. “Get me out of here!”

Radio host who…

That would be one take on it, a perspective I might’ve held at a time in the past.

In a recent conversation I had with a guy I know he was sharing a few things with me. For you to get a grasp of it, you’ll need a brief history on the man.

Some few years past he said he “used to be an agnostic”, but…

Very recently someone who was connected to my world passed away. Her name was Bev Brody, a resident of Oceana, the retirement community where I live. She was also a member of the writing class I teach as a volunteer every Tuesday. Caught by surprise, I wrote a blog post about her.…

While I speak out against commercial air travel every chance I get, I have flown in the past. Not a great deal, perhaps 15-20 airliner flights in my life. I’m far less concerned about being in a private aircraft where I can see the pilot. That, in and of itself, is a convoluted logic. Once I flew in a very dinky little plane while on the honeymoon with my first wife. We…

A very poignant question, one the blog readership is almost certainly qualified to answer. It’s also a question I, personally, have proven is well beyond my ability to respond to intelligently, so I suppose it’s best to leave it up to all of you.

One consideration, of course, is tax savings. However, since all I have to support me is…

At times I feel a bit like a lab rat. Things seem to “get tested” on me so the rest of us, you and all our other blog readers, can learn the lesson. Heck, that’s okay with me. In most cases it only means I get the “bennies” first and you get the shortcut to ‘em. …

Clearly Mom had nearly insatiable cravings for won ton soup, noodles, rice, and all things Mandarin and Cantonese while pregnant with me. I’m sure that’s what set my body clock on Hong Kong time and is the reason I can seldom get to sleep before 6:00 a.m. PST.

When I was active in the “regular human beings” world it required some accommodation at…

To be honest, it hurts even now when that happens. Quite possibly because it’s an offshoot of the “friendly fire” reference used in the military. That happens when your own guys mistake you for the enemy and stitch you up and down the front and-or back with automatic fire. It’ll rip you out a new…

“Vivid images… distil the lives of the women who wrote them. They speak to all the stages of life—even celebrate ageing--and our roles as women. These are poems [that] will stay with you forever.” ~ Nancy Famolari



Poets living half a world apart naturally understand the value of e-books, the best way for people living anywhere in the world to access a work.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a Californian while Magdalena Ball lives down under. Together they have published…

As a second choice for the title I could’ve used SHOT IN THE BACK and it would’ve been true.  For total accuracy I’d need to include “A” before the second selection, since that’s what I got today, a shot in the back. Two, actually.

There was a new doc in my series of “pretending” physicians … um, I guess I mean…

Life can be, and too often is, full of surprises. There’ve been times, especially these last ten years, when my biggest surprises were not finding one. Having something come out as I’d planned instead of going kaflooey on me. This isn’t just something holding true only for “old guys”, either, albeit a particular tenet of mine for many years.

I don’t…

… I’d be parked at the rear of the lot, off to the side. The body still looks pretty decent, and they just don’t make that model any longer, but there’s a potential parts problem. Oh, and the repairs, if they ever get started, will cost an arm and a leg.

As we all know, that has an immediate impact on what’s known as the “resale value” of the…

Exactly those words have been spoken to me by people I feel “have their poo-doo together”, and I give it credibility. There are better explanations provided in this link, but that thing we call “Satan” is, in reality, inside us. An easy way to look at it is to say the existence of “Satan” in whatever…

Never think a man doesn’t learn things to improve himself while living homeless. That’s not the reason I list a 4-year degree from the HPOC Technological Institute on my résumé, but it is a side benefit of that hellhole. I believe I learned the talent I’ll call…

You have no idea what you’ll find hiding there, but that old phrase “coming out of the woodwork” can be incredibly accurate. I can attest to it for two reasons, neither “bad”, but one is more surprising than the other. Both reinforce the value of “The Pony Tale“.…

… under a Christmas tree, but there’s a single, steamy dog turd in the middle of ‘em, guess which one’s gonna get all the attention?

That’s something almost all of us do. We pay the most attention to the…