Interesting Things
The most interesting thing that happened today
Writing humor and drawing comics, Rochester, NY
August 1, 2023, Tuesday— What if I could quietly, low-key walk away from junk food, fast food, and random junk snacks, like, today? The hyperpalatable, processed stuff that isn’t someone’s birthday cake (not social, not special). “I submerge into writing, for instance, trying not to think about starting. When I think, I worry, ‘What if I can’t […]
July 31, 2023, Monday— The dog we’re sitting does the two-step when he sees a bunny, but it’s no big deal. I had to walk him before I left for the warehouse, though, and I was afraid we’d see a raccoon. Or a skunk, or some other round-eyed garden monster. I didn’t expect the flash […]
July 30, 2023, Sunday— Ancient dust is the one constant in our lives right now. I’ve trained to order pick at the warehouse the last two weeks, and let me tell you, most packages in transit have a fine sheen of dust. It runs off in black streaks when you soap your hands. It was […]
July 29, 2023, Saturday— Rachel simply texted me images of an enormous bouquet of maple leaves that had squashed our chain link fence. What now? This, after a tree of heaven dropped a branch on our backyard, only nicking a gutter, thank Brigid. A slow, massive creak preceded the crash, so she thought the cat […]
July 28, 2023, Friday— Woah! Today was my wife’s last day at her data entry job/her active duty with the Coast Guard actually starts Monday. No big deal, she figured it out. *heart pounds* Also, a drunk man was throwing rocks at the house across the street at 3 am. Feels like home (Brooklyn). Photo: […]
July 27, 2023, Thursday— A roar one minute before the alarm went off at 4:30 am. Our cat was looking out the front window, presumably at some trespasser cat who used to hang out before it became Fresno’s porch. Rachel and I also took our first after-work walk to the Genesee, a brief reprieve from […]
July 26, 2023, Wednesday— We always meant to visit the food cart randomly on Goodman, a few streets from our old house. Back over there sitting a Maltipoo, Rachel got a veggie sammy. Photos by her. Otherwise, I found a granddaddy longlegs in a plastic orange bin at work. I gave it a little shake […]
July 23, 2023, Sunday— I couldn’t find my locker keys at the house today, my day off, so Rachel and I swung by the warehouse to see if anyone had found them. If not, I would’ve asked the maintenance guys to cut the lock so I could start on time Monday. I’m usually way on […]
July 22, 2023, Saturday— I went back to our previous address (our rent is paid through July) and did two loads of laundry. I bid goodbye to the tall sunny room that was our first shelter out of New York City, and drew a comic about the warehouse on the porch. Then, I left our […]
July 19, 2023, Wednesday— … but likes everything all over the place.
July 17, 2023, Monday— Waving goodbye to the Atlantic, and Wawa, before the drive home.
July 16, 2023, Sunday— The mockingbird’s song under the Cape May Lighthouse was hauntingly familiar, especially to Brooklynites–whoooooOOOOP. whoooooOOOOP. whoooooOOOOP. whoooooOOOOP. we-AWWW. we-AWWW. we-AWWW. we-AWWW. Car alarm. After omelettes and hash browns at Dock Mike’s Pancake House, everyone went home but us. So, we climbed the lighthouse’s 199 steps and asked the guide when they […]
July 15, 2023, Saturday— This black hulk is the wreckage of the USS Atlantus, resting like 3,000 tons of bricks just two tennis courts away from the shore of Sunset Beach. The ship was built from concrete instead of steel after World War I, and ultimately ended up a warf, wrecked by a storm. Then, […]
July 14, 2023, Friday— My nephew’s small kids tried, but ended up cranky by the time we got a table and then food at The Lobster House in Cape May, NJ. Though, the smallest boy, 2 1/2, is very good-natured when not tired and hungry. His catchphrase is, “I don’t know.” As in—Adam: “Who’s this?” […]
July 13, 2023— Rachel took this photo on the way to pick me up from safety training at the warehouse. She also said she got a non-dairy ice cream cone from Brusters and, when it abruptly pitched forward, CAUGHT the scoop in her palm. She refused a new scoop. No need to waste a scoop! […]
July 12, 2023— Rachel surveyed the accelerated nursing program she starts in August, and I joined for the reception after. Three program directors, all nurses, talked with genuine excitement and passion for the work and training of new nurses. I’m so proud of Rachel for being a part of it. New to a Union I […]
July 11, 2023— My friend Hope, visiting from Pittsburg (via Brooklyn), and I did not stick “I voted” stickers on Susan B. Anthony’s gravestone, per the sign. However, we did play “Sufferin’ Till Suffrage” a la Schoolhouse Rock on my phone. It’s a badass song, and I think Susan-B/Anthon-y (🎵🎶🎵🎶) would have liked it. Then, […]
July 10, 2023— The sugar ants’ relay race around the counter was especially energetic for 5 am. I dispersed them with a paper napkin. Where were they going? Ah, to the Red Bull can I rinsed and then left on the ledge over the sink. Illustration by me, ants not pictured
July 9, 2023— I walked down Gregory Street to give the electrician a key to the new house, and passed this amazing owl mural by Aerosol Kingdom on Anyone’s Cafe, Rochester, NY. After that, I ran to meet a friend at the Pride Picnic in Genesee Valley Park. Thankfully, no one was protesting the drag […]
July 8, 2023— Some big bug audibly buzzed down Merriman Street, swiftly pursued by three or four sparrows. Then, one more sparrow zoomed around me to join the chase. I was like, how am I seeing this? Our landlord showed our apartment today, so I hung around to make sure Fresno didn’t saunter away. The […]
July 7, 2023— First, gentrification isn’t my story. Most New Yorkers in entry-level jobs in the city’s hallmark industries, publishing, film, theater, hospitality, service, etc. aren’t systematically oppressed by class and race. It sucks (I hope you think so) to find an affordable apartment too close to a gentrifying neighborhood only, and to be a […]
July 6, 2023— I’ve written 27 of these “interesting thing” posts, but nothing else, and not really drawn anything, since June 10. In one month, June, my wife made a five-year student commitment to U of R, I found a job, we bought a house circa 1900, and need to shell out thousands to replace […]
July 5, 2023— “Don’t worry, I’ve got a family. I’m not going to break your pockets,” our affable contractor said, standing under the damaged kitchen ceiling. They’re going to fix the leak and damage, and map the bathroom pipes to give us smart options for a bathroom renovation (AKA our honeymoon to Ireland). He also […]
July 4, 2023— The poodles we dog-sat this weekend (photo) scorned their JW ball, but watched us expectantly for some game. The second-oldest squared shoulders with the youngest, too, but no romps ensued. How to ignite this yard with ecstatic caniches? We sat outside with them for an hour before we left for good. And […]
July 3, 2023— A burgundy-haired grandma dished with the clerk at Lowe’s. “We can’t do Saturday because we’ll be in Michigan,” she said, Day-Timer open, striped and circled. A boxed stove hood against her leg like a cat. “Monday, I have a medical appointment. We could probably do Wednesday. Let’s do Wednesday” for delivery. To […]
July 2, 2023— Rachel was on the hunt for $6 rakes, so we circled a cinderblock building on Lake Avenue with a dental center and body shop. Facebook Marketplace said the Norton Flea Market exists, but no one had set out a sandwich board. Well, it is the July 4 weekend. We shopped the unfamiliar […]
July 1, 2023— Rachel slept over with me at the dog-sit house. We’re two saplings in a cranberry bog—cream and burgundy Persian carpet, cherry coffee table, Art Deco lamps. Completely absent, thinking of the dogs and the new house, but we watched an hour of King Kong on the laptop, and ate popcorn from home. […]
June 30, 2023— It’s funny, what’s scary when the sun rolls down. Rachel and I closed on our first house yesterday, a mint-green mountain circa 1900, but I scrolled Twitter at 10:30 pm because I was in an unfamiliar room. Like a 10-year-old with a mortgage. We’re watching three beautiful poodles and a Maine Coon […]
June 29, 2023— Parking’s at a premium on our street, and a newcomer situates her SUV in the middle of two spaces in front of our house. Our downstairs neighbor, a teacher in her 20s, saw the woman out, also in her 20s, and said something like, “Hey! No big deal, but two cars usually […]
June 28, 2023— Rachel nonchalantly returned from the kitchen to eat her peanuts on the sofa. They crunched, though, like (the realization dawns on me) Giant Peruvian Inca Corn!! CAUGHT. “I saw you peek at me from the kitchen, to see if I heard the bag crinkle,” I said. To be fair, I gobbled half […]
June 27, 2023— Chicory on AstroTurf at the East High School track. Not pictured, a little skunk, trundling around the bottom of the fence, flashing her tail at a mockingbird before fading into brush. Writing However it Works for You As someone who gets caught up in process and productivity, I appreciated this from Jaya […]
June 26, 2023— Serving “sweet, sweet froots” to squirrel, sparrow, starling, robin and hovering cardinal (inches from of our screen) since May.
June 25, 2023— We would have gone in just to say hi to this lady, guarding Medusas of Rochester (closed until noon, but not closed-minded).
June 24, 2023— Saturday, running (Rachel) and walking (me) at Mendon Pond, 2,540 miles east of the Western States 100, but keeping tabs on Courtney “Long Shorts” Dauwalter, setting her course record (15:29:34). Portrait of sweaty me just to add a human to this mix.