Hell in a Handbasket
David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel

Hell in a Handbasket

Before she was Jane Hadley, the rock ’n’ roll singer/songwriter—the Goddess of Rock, bigger than Taylor, Adele, and Beyoncé combined, she was Jane Hadley, the folk ’n’ roll singer/songwriter who never sold more than a thousand albums and a few hundred t-shirts. Before she had a #1 album flying off the shelves and being downloaded to the Cloud by millions, and an entire merchandising department, she was just a girl who played in a few bands: the Stargazers, Rosie’s Dream Catcher, Jane and the Jaded Cowboys.

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Who Gets to Tell Your Kid’s Story?
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

Who Gets to Tell Your Kid’s Story?

I hated when my mother would talk about me to her friends when I was a kid. Hated it. Even the most bland of stories, like, say, that I was playing little league again that spring would infuriate me. And I know she shared way more about me than my pre-teen baseball career to her friends and family. Hated it. As if she knew anything about me whatsoever. As if my challenges and wins and all-inclusive experiences—as if my life—were her story to tell.

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I am Santa Claus: A Parenting Journey
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

I am Santa Claus: A Parenting Journey

Christmas Eve. Just after somewhere between 7:30 and 8:57-ish at night. My wife was hurried away in the kitchen preparing tomorrow morning’s breakfast—an egg casserole that’ll put hair on your mother’s balls. Delicious. I was lulling the child to sleep with three books. One about trucks, another about construction trucks, and the third, Goodnight Moon.

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A Missed Opportunity
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

A Missed Opportunity

Hunting rats and my desire to kill them was the first topic of conversation my wife and I had when we met. She said I should not have been walking the alley behind my apartment with a small bb gun shooting at them because they had a right to be there. She wasn’t wrong. But neither was I. Fuck rats. Kill them all.

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"Baby, It's Cold Outside" 2020 Edition
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" 2020 Edition

He: Beautiful watch you're wearing

She: My father will be pacing the floor—Wait, what about my watch?

He: Listen to the fireplace roar

She: No. This isn’t about the fireplace. Look, really, I'd better scurry

He: Okay. That’s fair. Text me tomorrow. I’ll get you a Lyft.

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Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of November 29, 2020
David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of November 29, 2020

Watching The Crown, I saw the pretext that read: “The following episode includes scenes of an eating disorder which some viewers may find troubling. Viewer discretion is advised. Information and resources for those struggling with eating disorders are available at www.wannatalkaboutit.com” I thought, Oh, yay! Diana is back in this episode!

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The End of These Unprecedented Times
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

The End of These Unprecedented Times

In these unprecedented times… Unprecedented means never done or known before. So, every moment that comes is unprecedented. If we’re to believe that moments matter in the grand scheme of this exhausting, debilitating, and all too short life we live, which is governed entirely by time. Tick. Tock.

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Notes from the Post-it Wall | Post-Election 2020 Edition
David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Post-Election 2020 Edition

The Republican Party gained more ground locally, and even some nationally. The courts are full of conservative judges who have every opportunity to legislate from the bench. The fight rages on, and progress is still a little behind. We must be more tortoise and less hare. Mitch McConnell not only looks like a tortoise, he’s been playing the slow and stead game for a long time, which is why he’s winning.

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Microsoft Teams is the Devil’s Tool
David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel

Microsoft Teams is the Devil’s Tool

“This is no way to pray. This is no way to send our loved one off to the Great Beyond. To Heaven? I don’t know. I’m not sure anymore. I’m not even sure I was ever so sure at all.”

Typical Fr. Harrington. Always starting his sermons with a sense of existential dread and confusion. Topped off with a sprinkle of self-doubt. He’s the Woody Allen of Catholicism. He even had a questionable relationship with an ingénue at his old parish in Portland, Maine. That’s how he ended up here. In my church.

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