When Madness dropped the song from which the title of this post came, I quickly made my way to the nearest vinyl emporium  (where are my Rio Mall nerds? I know you\’re out there) and purchased the 45 RPM. I played it until I wore the grooves off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmezIIrFQmYYou\’re welcome for that pleasurable little jaunt down musical memory lane. And if you were uninitiated to the fabulousness of Madness, you\’re also welcome.But I digress.If you\’ve been following along lately, you have probably noticed that I have been on an anime kick. It\’s Amazon\’s fault, with their 30-day trial of Prime. I…

I once heard or saw or read a thing … for me, the three are often one and the same.The thing was that humans (and other animals as well) use pheromones for attraction. To bring it down to basics, a person might smell pleasant, smell unpleasant, or seem to have no noticable natural scent. If he or she smells good, chances are there is some level of compatibility.My Christopher indulged me, allowing me to smell his flesh. I would firmly plant my nostrils against his bicep, shoulder, or upper back (I was partial to his neck but he was too…

I’m watching this very thought-provoking anime called Shigofumi. A Shigofumi is, as the English titling suggests, a letter from the dead. In the story (no spoilers!), the young woman pictured above is the person who delivers such post; when a person dies, he or she is given the opportunity to write a letter and this woman delivers it to its intended living recipient. I’ve only watched a few episodes (three from Season 1 as of this writing) and there was a line that struck me. I can’t remember it exactly, but it was something like ‘Death doesn’t save a person.…

When someone Leaves for the Great Beyond, those remaining must begin, at some point, to pick up the pieces.Of everything:Shards of broken heart.Bits of memories that randomly flutter in like leaves.Tears that fall intermittently like Southern California rain.And then there is the cleaning, the removal of papers, clothes, and various bric-a-brac that no longer fit the remains of the life Left. I\’ve been making my way through our house — it will always be our house — and the space that requires the greatest elbow grease is the garage. So the story goes, this was the model home for the…

I popped into a convenience store the other day, desiring something sweet. Chocolate, I figured, would take care of the problem.Chocolate almost always works.I looked up and down at all the neatly lined boxes and tried to get excited about something. Anything.I paused at the Caramellos, one of my all-time favorites: they were on a twofer. However, my stomach lurched instead of growled at the possibility. It\’s not the first time of late.When my Christopher left, he took some of my appetites with him. He used to buy me Caramellos when he went to the store sometimes because he knew…