Just Me

So I was reading a Substack post   today (hi, Rob!) and I loved how the author said, “Racism is stupid.” Yes, it is. Racism is very, VERY stupid. And anyone who is racist is stupid, too. I said what I said!   But this made me think about something that occurred to me yesterday while I was reading another Substack post: It’s wrong to believe that we should all be vegan. Now, before I get hate mail from animal rights groups, let me expound on this: It’s wrong to believe that we should all be vegan because we should ALL be allowed to exist in our own way. (Unless you’re a pedophile or a serial killer, but that’s what law enforcement is for – in most cases, that is.)   All of the things that we have made up about people in this world – racism, nationalities, dietary preferences, religions, mental health conditions, disabilities, sexual orientation and gender identity – these are all created by man. On a spiritual level, though, we ALL belong. We are all connected. We ...

    Today is the last day of July and all I can say is GOOD FREAKING RIDDANCE!! Between bad things happening with the press, my business partner’s personal crisis still going on, and my brother passing away, it has not been a good month for me on a personal level. And, yes, of course I had some rejections with the writing, but I get those every month, so they didn’t ruin my month for me. Those three other things did.   It was the loss of my brother that drove me to writing even more than usual, but I also continued to read every day as well. Reading brings me comfort and a sense of peace. It is also a nice way for me to escape from the bad stuff in life, not to mention helping to take my mind off of things.   Some of the books I read this month were children’s books. In my defense, that box of books for kids was RIGHT THERE. I couldn’t just ignore them! So I grabbed a bunch that interested me and sat down to read them.   This is true except for one...

  Troy Colclasure in 1979 at age 13    This morning, I received the heartbreaking news that my older brother, Troy Colclasure, passed away the previous night. He died in the Desert Regeniol Hospital in Palm Springs, California, a little over three hours after being taken off of the ventilator that had kept him alive. His passing was peaceful and he had family with him.   One of my favorite memories of Troy was how he supported me in everything I liked to do. And when I told him one day that I was just somewhere by myself, singing (I was too shy to sing in front of people), he encouraged to sing for him.   Well, him and his friend, Chris. Those two were like brothers. They hung out constantly. We all loved Chris’ mom, too.   Troy with his buddy, Chris, and his wife, Jamie. They were friends for life. Well, Troy and Chris happened to discover that I had been singing in private, so Troy encouraged me to sing for him and Chris. So I did. I was in the ...