On the evening of the most recent Picayune, exactly two weeks ago, I was in my basement exercising and threw out my back. It was a pulled muscle and I felt the fibers tear as the pain exploded and sent me to my knees. Luckily, I was near one of the s...

When I first decided to become a writer, at the age of 17, I suffered from Dunning-Kruger Effect about writing. If you’re not familiar, Dunning-Kruger means your ignorant about, or bad at, something, but you think you’re excellent at it. It’s a cogni...

It’s Valentines Day, which is a nice holiday for adults with a romantic partner, but kind of bonkers for everyone else, especially school kids. I was in Target picking up chocolate as a gift for my wife (“Hey big spender…” 💘) and was reminded of how...

This past weekend, the Detroit Lions lost a tough game in the playoffs. It was more like a collapse, as they had momentum and swagger all through the first half. It was their game to win. After decades without a playoff victory, this seemed their yea...

I wrote a book when I was a little kid. Like five years old little. I know what you’re thinking: “Sure you did, and I bet your mom helped more than just a little.” In fact, Mom didn’t help at all until it was published. Once she had a copy in her han...

The holidays are upon us and whether you celebrate or not, you have to deal with it here in America. I suppose you can find a quite village away from the cities and be selective about what you watch on television, but you’re only hurting the U.S. eco...

I was driving in upstate New York a month ago with my wife and adult kid, on our way to visit a waterfall. It was a hilly area and the county roads twisted and bent. Unlike in the midwest, few of the intersections were at right angles. There weren’t...

I went bowling for the first time in long while the other day. It was fine as far as bowling goes, but there was an incident with the group bowling next to us. They were four college-age young men, and they were kind of jerks about one of the bowling...

When I was little, like four years old little, I liked to hide from my mom and crawl under things. That’s probably a not-so-unusual thing for a dumb little kid to do. But hiding from your mother can have consequences. One day, Mom took me on a shoppi...