So it goes...

As usually happens at my Thursday coffee discussions with my buddies at a l ocal coffee shop , the conversation took twists and turns that one couldn't have predicted if they tried. In this particular case, the conversation started at a discussion of reparations for Native and African Americans, but ended with a discussion of hearing the voice of God. It was a winding path, to say the least. I can't recreate the thread that got us on to that topic, but it was an interesting one indeed. Basically, one of the guys said that if the Bible is the only way some people say we hear from God, does that mean He's not talking to those people, or are they just not attributing a moment, an experience or an emotional reaction to perhaps being the voice of God. The whole discussion started on the topic of the Originalists with regards to the Constitution and went on from there. But the best part about the conversation was how these two guys and I all told stories of our artistic p...

In the past I've mentioned that I have a group of guys I have coffee with at Cafe De Arts for one hour every Thursday. I once jokingly called them the Thursday Theologians because often times our talk is religious or spiritual in nature, though not always. They're a hard group to summarize, really. I would call them my "best-friends-for-an-hour-each-week" but that would be sappy and besides the name is too long. They are friends though. Most of them are part of my church CollectiveMKE, but not all. It certainly isn't a requirement, though as I said, our conversation often drifts into spiritual discussions. We usually pretend to be sort of a book study, though we're all slow readers and take forever to get through a book. The book is more of a reason to show up than anything we really delve deep into. If we didn't purport to have anything "in progress" there might be impetus for someone not to show. We need an anchor, so a book it is. ...

This was one of those weekends where every time I turned around I saw the triumph of the human spirit. I saw people living their lives to the fullest, pushing themselves and making the world a more beautiful, enjoyable place to live. And I'm not sure if it is my age or just an awakening of some sort, but when I see things like I witnessed I take hold of them and it restores my faith in the world and in humanity. With all the darkness and despair in the world today, when I see points of light from anywhere, or in the case of this weekend, everywhere, I regain hope for my kids and their kids. It started on Friday night when we went to see a couple of blues bands at Anodyne Coffee Roastery . The warm-up band was named Big Al Dorn and the Blues Howlers , and they blew the doors off the place. And I am a sap for live music anyways, but to see these talented young musicians playing their hearts out and playing the blues like they were meant to be played, just made my heart soar. The ...

My Tuesday night evolved in the strangest way into an odd, albeit rewarding evening. Last week after my weekly coffee with the the boys at Cafe De Arts , I got a text message from my friend Claude who asked if I wanted to get together next Tuesday. I mentioned it to Donna, and she said it was probably because she was hosting 10 women at our house to assemble sandwiches for the Guest House of Milwaukee . Claude knew I would probably want to get out of the house, so felt it would be a good chance to get together for a beer. So we set a time and a place ( Bernies Taproom a local bar) and I mentioned he should invite the other guys from coffee and some others from CollectiveMKE , our church. Then he said, "Maybe we could even make sandwiches while we're there. Now, to be honest, I thought this was a little crazy at first. I am one of those people that worries entirely too much what people think. (Though as I get older, I seem to be caring less.) So, to propose a bunch of gu...

A couple of nights ago was the quarterly AllWriters ' Friday Night Free For All event at Cafe De Arts in Waukesha. The event features students of the writing studio reading their work in front of an audience. They read from a bunch of different genres and styles including, Poetry, Memoir, Fiction, Short Story and Novel. And while I live the reading part, sometimes I get as much enjoyment out of the half hour before and half hour afterward talking to other writers. It's the closet extrovert in me. I enjoyed talking to Lila about her soon to be released book about her brother that she wrote using HIS point of view - something I've never seen too much before in memoir. She conducted interviews with him for much of it and it sounded like a fascinating way to write a book. She has worked hard getting her book finished and published and I am super excited to see it come to fruition. And I loved talking to Jocelyn, the newest member of the Mighty Monday Nighters group that I...

Today I did another Dirty Shirt presentation. I'm referring to it as the "last one" of the Dirty Shirt road tour, but that is probably a bad label. I call it that because it is the last one that I have on the docket for the immediate future. It's not to say I will not do another one, because I am almost certain I will - probably sooner than later. It's just that there is nothing scheduled yet and I am not actively seeking more. The thing is, I will take whatever comes my way and give it proper consideration. The book doesn't go away just because no one has called lately about a presentation. If someone called tomorrow and offered an audience, I'd probably jump at the chance. The whole Dirty Shirt travelling road show has been a surreal experience. I've slogged a million miles over these 21 months and wouldn't trade one minute of any of it. I've met some fantastic people - people in love with everything the BWCA stands for - and for that I a...

As you probably know, yesterday was my Written Life poetry release at Cafe De Arts . It was a day I've waited for for the past 4 months, since my book was accepted for publishing. Here are a few of the highlights: My 82 year old mother made the trip alone on the MegaBus from St. Paul to go to the launch. When I look at that kind of resolve and commitment, it only makes me hope that I can do the same thing for my kids at that age. It was great to see her, to catch up, to reminisce and just spend some time with her. I got a wonderful introduction from my writing instructor Kathie Giorgio. She detailed the history of my wading into the world of poetry and then presented me with the mandatory accessory of all poets, a black beret. People say I looked pretty good in it, but I doubt it will see the light of day on anything short of Halloween.  I gave a background on my love of poetry including two of my favorites, Richard Brautigan and Shel Silverstein. These guys make everyone els...

The life of a writer is full of ups and downs. The excitement of an acceptance for publication can be quickly offset the next day by the struggle of trying to get 200 words out of your head and onto the page. Thing is, we put this burden on ourselves because the other option, not writing, only seems worse. The view from my writing chair has been unquestionably positive lately. Lots of recent successes, fun promotional opportunities and even a new submission here and there. All of those things are good. At the same time, I spend too much time beating myself up about what I'm not doing - not putting out significant amounts of new material, not getting to my Portland Avenue book like I should, and not promoting heavily enough. I blame it all on this little guy in my head that likes to trip me up. The old inner critic. So, my goal is to focus on the positive, the successes of late and what may be upcoming. If I only get 300 words done a week, but have 2 submissions and a good edi...

I was joking about how yesterday was my Dirty Shirt Travelling Road Show. I had two book events in a single day and likened it to being in a band and touring around the country. A few of the comparisons were: Like Kiss without the face makeup and pyrotechnics. On the road without Kerouac. That's me. Like Springsteen without Clarence, Little Stevie and triple encores. On tour like The Who, without groupies and guitar smashing. Like Woodstock, without the mud, VW buses and Joe Cocker. Like the Grateful dead, without beach balls, Jerry Garcia solos and the stoned naked guy running around. It was like all of that and way more. It was a GREAT day. Perhaps I should clarify and say it was a GREAT afternoon. Because the morning was so incredibly underwhelming I can hardly describe it. The morning event at Threshold Inc. was an "Author Showcase". Twenty authors were there signing books to no one but themselves, apparently. I managed to sell four books, three of the...

Thursday mornings have become my favorite morning of the week. Much like Saturday mornings with my wife, Thursdays start with coffee and conversation at a local coffee shop. Unlike Saturdays these are spent at Cafe De Arts in downtown Waukesha, home of the best cup of coffee in Waukesha, in my opinion. The owner Ayhun is a wonderful proprietor and always has my coffee ready by the time I get to the register. "I saw you coming," he says. He is also the one who offered his place for my book signing on June 21st, completely catching me off guard. I like to support businesses like his because he really cares about his customers and has a heart for his community as shown through his suspended coffees program. (A sort of pay it forward coffee program for the homeless.) Anyways, I meet between three and four other men there on Thursday mornings before work every week. Occupationally, we are a diverse lot. There's a metal worker, an engineer who works for GE, a youth pastor...