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Fall on the Mountain

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Small Town Mountain Living

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Cognitive Dissonance

 

I'm a small town boy. Born and bred small town as a matter of fact, and proud as a peacock of my heritage.  I suspect it's one of the many reasons I have adapted so well to living a relatively isolated life up here on the mountain.

It fits my DNA.

Back in 1998 when I moved to Fairfax, VA (a Northern VA 'suburb' of Washington, DC) from rural southeastern Connecticut I assumed I could bring my small town ways to the metropolis. I was shown otherwise in very short order.

Where I come from when you move to a new-to-you small town, or even just across town, the first thing you do after unpacking the U-Haul is to stroll over to your nearest neighbors and introduce yourself. This assumes, of course, that your nearest neighbors haven't already visited to introduce themselves.

Things worked a little differently back in 1998 when I moved to Fairfax. I was a single parent back then with a 13 year old boy in tow. We moved into an apartment complex and, after unpacking, I grabbed my son and we knocked on the nearest doors. The reception was not what either of us expected. Continue reading Fall on the Mountain →

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An Act of Pure Evil

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An Act of Pure Evil

By

Cognitive Dissonance

 

This is being written the day after the mass shooting in Las Vegas and it in no way diminishes the horror and suffering experienced by all involved. I cannot imagine what it was like to be watching an outdoor concert and suddenly find myself under fire with nowhere to run and no place to hide.

It was truly horrific, senseless and so very sad. Or as President Trump declared in his morning after address to the nation, this was “an act of pure evil”.

There is no doubt over the ensuing days, weeks and months millions of words will be spoken and written about this singular act of violence perpetrated upon an unaware and unprepared crowd of dessert revelers. From arm chair psychologists such as this author to so called ‘experts’, we will be bombarded with one part insight to every hundred parts of nonsense.

No doubt the nonsense will prevail. Continue reading An Act of Pure Evil →

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This and That Vol. 2 – Talking Your Book

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This and That Vol. 2 – Talking Your Book

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Cognitive Dissonance

 

I don’t know what’s going on in your neck of the woods, but the summer of ‘17 definitely chalks up as strange up here on the mountain. It has been cool (as in not hot) pretty much all summer and for the most part dry. Not dry enough to burn the grass, but no real good soakers to shower the garden with much need deeply penetrating moisture. And from what I am hearing and reading, the weather’s been out of the ordinary pretty much across the breadth and width of the good old USA…and the rest of the world for that matter.

Please understand that in this case strange does not specifically imply cooler or warmer, just odd as in different, aka not normal. Don’t you just love those non precise words? Using them affords us all kinds of wiggle room. Continue reading This and That Vol. 2 – Talking Your Book →