Month: May 2014

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We Were On a Break: Friends After 10 Years

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Has it truly been 10 years?

10 years ago, to the day, my favorite television show ever, Friends, ended in grand style with a two-part finale that wrapped everything up much better than a lot of finales have before or since. Of course, being such a huge fan, I wanted several certain things to happen, and I had my fingers crossed for:

  • Rachel and Ross to end up together
  • Monica and Chandler to have their kids
  • Joey to not be left behind
  • Closure on this part of their lives
  • Hope for good things to happen in their future

attachment-4669In fact, 10 years later I imagine Ross and Rachel have two more beautiful children, and Ben is a good big brother to them all, even though he’s in college in Rhode Island so he doesn’t see them nearly as much as he would wish. Joey’s attempt at restarting his acting career gave him a chance to reconnect with his sister and his nephew in Los Angeles, then he lands an amazing part in a new sitcom as the headmaster of a school for young boys. The show is still a huge international hit. Monica and Chandler raised the twins well, and then 3 years after their birth Monica got pregnant despite the odds and ironically had another set of twins they called Joey and Phoebe.

Their kids are good friends with Rachel and Ross’s kids. In fact, their parents joked that they might end up living across the hall from each other in New York City someday. Continue reading “We Were On a Break: Friends After 10 Years”

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Checked Out: Week 17

Well, I got a bit sidetracked this week with my book Who Asked You? by Terry McMillan. I’ll admit I was a bit prejudiced against it from the start, and once I got past the first chapter I realized it had more than one narrator. In fact, it has at least four so far (but … Continue reading Checked Out: Week 17

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Tale of Two Cities

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My birth city. Philadelphia.

It was the best of times, it was the better of times. Or something like that. It’s been said that people either love the place they grew up in or they hate it. So many people spend so much time trying their hardest to “escape,” to get out and move on with their lives, because they don’t appreciate the place that raised them. While others are quite content to live and grow old in the place of their birth, around the people who have always been around and who will always be around.

I’m a bit different. I love where I grew up but I don’t still live there. Philadelphia is the most amazing city in the world. I was just there last weekend, and every time I go back it both reminds me why I love it, and why I still miss it so much. Of course I haven’t lived there since late 1998, a span of over 15 years, but it’s still a version of  “home” that I treasure more than almost any other place in the world.

There’s just something to be said about that Philly atmosphere, even though I’ve never had one of those famous cheesesteaks (it’s the first question I get asked whenever anyone finds out I’m from the city of Brotherly Love). I mean, that Philly vibe is one of the most unique I’ve ever been around. I liken it to being a fan of a football team. You might adore the team, but when it does something stupid you scratch your head and complain. It doesn’t mean you don’t still love the team. You’re just so invested that you feel a part of it, even when you have no say over it. Continue reading “Tale of Two Cities”

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A George Michael Song

george_michael-too_funky(2)“Ooh, you’re just too funky for me. I gotta get inside of you. And I’ll show you heaven if you’ll let me.” -George Michael

Often, I wish I were in a George Michael song, any George Michael song, because the characters that populate his lyrics are nothing if not breathtaking. They’re complex, like real life human beings, and they’re often broken or scarred. Their hearts bleed through the lyrics, and I connect with them. More than that, though, it’s really all about the feelings, the emotions they tap into, that leap out through the songs.

“Sadness in my eyes. No one guessed, and no one tried. You smiled at me like Jesus to a child.”

There is a completeness to the idea of being smiled at by Jesus. I spent my entire formative years reading about and listening to stories about Jesus, how dynamic he was, and how blessed anyone felt when he looked at them. I imagine being that child, being young and naive, but knowing there’s more out there. Wanting to have faith but being weak, with sadness creeping in to every facet of my life. Then being smiled at by Jesus and knowing it will all be okay.

“So, I just kept breathing, my friends. Waiting for the man to choose, saying this ain’t the day it ends, ’cause there’s no white light and I’m not through. I’m alive.”

Death is the great unknown, isn’t it? I’ve always wanted to be in charge of my own fate, but I know it doesn’t happen that way, not really. Is there a tunnel, and a white light at the end of it welcoming people to the afterlife? I don’t know, but I feel comforted knowing that there’s more to life than just trying not to die. There’s this feeling of just breathing without having to think about it, existing day by day, and living life in those days, through those series of moments. I’m alive and I’m going to make the most of it. Continue reading “A George Michael Song”

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Faraway, So Close

Faraway, so close Lost in a moment That shall never return Neverending night Lacking all its stars In a fitful sleep Full of odd dreams And a lack of clarity Fighting a relevance That has yet to be seen Like art on a wall In an empty room Or strangers on a train Going nowhere … Continue reading Faraway, So Close

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Opening Up

I envy people who just sit down and write whatever comes to mind at that moment. You see, I’m not one of them. I really haven’t ever been, even in the wonderful confines of my own journals throughout the years. Indeed, even this post is the result of a great deal of introspection and editing. … Continue reading Opening Up