May 19
Taking a Moment for a Little Self Evaluation It’s that time of year again for the employees of Hydra Hydraulics, the annual employee evaluations. Ideally, there’s a meager raise involved with the evaluation to offset the slimmest fraction of rising inflation. Of course, there are no raises for me any time in the near future. …
May 12
Having Lived Past the Age of Reason “I’m really sorry I’m the one who has to be telling to this,” I tell my wife the other day. The tone of my voice doesn’t sound like I’m sorry, though. My wife who’s become a bit of an expert on my voice tones cocks a skeptical eyebrow. …
May 05
Just One Puff…Piece Sunday afternoon finds me straining to grasp at a subject I’d like to exploit for another weekly installment of the Polish Hammer Poetry Corner. After fifty-something odd columns I’ve written for “In Conversation,” have I finally exhausted my mental filing cabinet of petty grievances and wry observations? Not fucking likely. But I’ll …
Apr 28
Coon Dick Toothpicks and Other Political Atrocities The batshit crazy coming out of Washington doesn’t let up for a second. I’m tired of hearing about it, though it seems I’m intent on continuing to comment upon it. I’ve had enough of my eighty-year-old live-in father-in-law, Milt, offering his Fox News perspective. Finally, I just told …
Apr 21
Jesus Freaking with Frankenhooker I hadn’t thought about Patty Mullen in well over twenty years, I’m sure. When I saw her name listed as a guest at the Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Convention in Nashville, I failed to put name to face. The biggest draw for me this year, aside from the fact that …
Apr 07
Back to Fighting Ninjas Again When I think about myself, as a mildly neurotic, self-obsessed, self-analytical writer of confessional poems and columns sometimes must, and I think of all the amazing feats I’ve accomplished even though I was born without hair, my mind becomes a carnival, a lovefest, a celebration of all things Polish Hammer. …
Mar 31
One Flew Over the Chicken Coop The world is slam dancing on the edge of the mosh pit of mass insanity, my friends. Maybe Iran is an inferno of burning oil fields. Maybe Israel is a smoking crater. Who the fuck knows, and who can you trust to tell you? I can say with certainty …
Mar 24
A Legacy of Rabbit Chasing I’ve always been fond of telling my co-workers “If you stand by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float on by.” Apparently, it’s an unattributable idiom. I suppose you could point to Sun Tzu or Confucius if you absolutely must take your crackerjack philosophy from the …
Mar 17
A Man Called “Tellahoe” I hate to think the majority of people are born to lose. And I’m not inclined to debate the nature versus nurture narrative except to say I doubt anyone’s ever been pulled from the womb screaming racial epithets, wearing a MAGA hat. And it’s not my intention to get political in …
Mar 10
Some People Say I Was Anointed By Christ to Write Columns Milt settles into his catnapper, grabs the remote and flicks on the five o’clock news. “All right, let’s see what the mad man’s up to, now.” He’s referring to the Tangerine Lunatic, of course. A man he’s voted for three times, and he’ll vote …
