Pulling Back the Curtain

A Saturday Evening Story

A Liminal Odyssey My Dance with Hypnagogic States, Lucid Dreaming, and Sleep Paralysis In the quiet twilight of my bedroom, as the world fades, I slip into a realm where consciousness frays into a tapestry of hypnagogic states, lucid dreaming, and sleep paralysis. As a musician and songwriter, this liminal space is my sanctuary-a place to relieve anxiety, recharge my soul, heal old wounds, and weave the threads of creativity into songs that echo the human heart. Guided by the ethereal strains of Bill Evans’ The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961, especially the haunting “My Foolish Heart,” or the familiar cadence…

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In the Shadow of the Mask

In the Shadow of the Mask A weight presses down, stones stacked upon my chest, each one a silent vow to endure. I carry it all- the deadlines, the doubts, the threats that lurk like code gone rogue, until my bones groan, until the crush feels certain. I am a sentinel, trained to guard against collapse, but who guards the guard when darkness falls? I’m worn out from masking, from weaving a face that isn’t mine. In boardrooms, I am steel, a leader who never falters. At home, I am smiles, a shadow playing at light. The mask is heavy, its…

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The Last Pub Crawl

I spent so much time in Arlington in the early 90s that I decided to move to Arlington and return to school at UT Arlington. The genesis of my adult life was formed in the back corner table at J.R. Bentley's pub on Friday nights. Some weeks we were down a man and some weeks we were a full complement with all of our semi-regulars and guests joining us for the fun, but almost every week was our regular crew. And what a squad we were. Sometimes in the moment you realize you are playing out a part somewhere between The…

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A Sobriety Story

Io no bev' I don't drink. Not anymore. After five years of chronic drinking, I've been sober for 16 months. My journey to sobriety has been per Aspera ad Inferi. Prior to that, I was sober for four years. Prior to that, I binge drank for three years. It was like drinking at Bob's Country Bunker. I had both kinds, chronic and binge. .385 is a great batting average, but it's a terrible measure of your life and how the way you are living affects those around you. I've weighed whether to share this story, but it is my nature and…

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A Father’s Fears

The Living Years Every generation Blames the one before And all of their frustrations Come beating on your door I know that I'm a prisoner to all my father held so dear I know that I'm a hostage to all his hopes and fears I just wish I could have told him in the living years — The Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hr64MxYpgk Parents can disregard, fail, and neglect their children. But it’s a two-way street. Children can also inflict deep, lasting harm. When I was 13, I hurt my father deeply with careless, ignorant words. Our relationship…

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