“A Strange Turn of Events” Part 10
My Adventures and Short Brush with Fame in Community Theater continued… “This is where it All Ends” Ian Astbury. Lead Singer. “Sun King” – The Cult, Sonic Temple Album 1989 And Just Like That the Opening night was upon me bringing all the butterflies and in my case “Terrors” that come with a first performance…
“Doodling in Class”
Miss Napier angrily snapped her chalk in half effectively silencing Class 3B. Striding over to my desk she snatched a paper off my desk. She towered like an angry Goddess over me as I shrunk down in my seat. “Charlie Bucklin – what are these scribbles?” “Uh, notes?” “They look like doodles on your paper!”…
P. A. M. A. FILES: “Florsheim Shoes!” Part 1
It’s six-thirty in the morning. The air is misty with a crispness that is typical of an early Fall day in California. The morning air is redolent with the aromas of coffee, bacon, eggs, and toast wafting from the school Mess Hall. A few Robins perched on trees call a greeting to one another joyously. …
“A Bagful of Freedoze”
Frida…Frida…Frida…!” “What is it, Chucky?” said Mom. “Frida..Frida…” “You want something from the next room?” I nod my head enthusiastically as my short stumpy legs propel me towards the kitchen. Goddamn, these cotton diapers itch…and “sniff”…THEY NEED CHANGING TOO!” “Well, what does Chucky want?” I point my figure towards a cluttered shelf of cereal, chips,…
A Strange Turn of Events” Part 9
My Adventures and short brush with Fame in Community Theatre continues.. Okay back to the Tartuffe rehearsal… At the first rehearsal, I was introduced to the rest of the cast and I couldn’t have been asked to work with a nicer group of people. It consisted of four adults and three college students. The adults…
“King of Pain!”
It all started with a pain in the ass. I had turned thirty years old and abruptly my body began to experience troubling aging sensations. Twenty-year-old friends started teasing me about my arrival to “Middle Age” – to which I responded with my middle finger. “I ain’t that old,” I grumbled. Yet my body begged…
“Gettin’ Pantsed in College”
Corduroy Pants? No Thank You, I prefer wearing denim jeans. Even today I can’t bear to look at a pair of corduroys without feeling a stab of anxiety and despair. My guilty secret, my private shame is an untold story until now. Being older gives a man a sense of perspective and perhaps a bit…
4th Grade Facts O’ Life Part 2
So on a warm Saturday afternoon, I walked to the Los Gatos Public Library. Somehow, I found in the aisles a very large book entitled “Repo-Production.”It was a very old and large textbook that smelled like dirt. “Oh Boy, this must be it!” I thought. Not wanting to be caught at looking at stuff i…
Sunday Night Family Barbecue
Charlie, do you want to help me barbecue today?” “Yeah! Can I?” “Sure. We can work as a team. We can take turns watching the steak grill.” On Sunday’s, The Old Man was in fine form. There was nothing he loved more than working the family barbecue. In our neighborhood, he was known as the…
“No Pancakes for You!” A Breakfast Story
It came as a shock to us all – the day my Pop received his transfer to California by United Airlines. The Old Man a die-hard East Coaster was heartbroken – he didn’t want to leave our home in beautiful Alexandria and move to chilly San Francisco. But, if he wanted to continue being a…