Eulogy for an Angel
Posted: October 8, 2019 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: eulogy, family, funeral 1 Comment
Last week, I flew back home to South Jersey to be with my family to attend the funeral for my Aunt Jutta “JJ” Holmes. I was honored for my cousins to ask my sister and me to stand in the receiving line with them as we accepted condolences. It was delightful to see the people who came to say goodbye one last time. I was one of three to deliver words to the folks in attendance. I wanted to share my words with you: Read the rest of this entry »
We Can End War. Here’s How.
Posted: July 11, 2019 Filed under: Living by Accident Comments Off on We Can End War. Here’s How.
On September 21, 1987, then-President Ronald Reagan addressed the United Nations General Assembly with a message about world peace. I was seventeen years old and we were on the brink of nuclear war. That threat came to an end when the United States and Russia found common ground. We all love our children. We’ve lived through two world wars, where each atrocity was only matched by the next, and nuclear annihilation was a reality. And this simple principle kept strangers from killing one another. Here is my favorite excerpt of his speech:
“In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?”
Yes and…. How Improv Teaches Loyalty
Posted: June 19, 2019 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: comedy, improv Comments Off on Yes and…. How Improv Teaches Loyalty
In our 20’s, my wife took improv classes at a really cool studio on Fairfax in Los Angeles right next to the famous Canter’s deli. Her comedy troupe “Mama Likes it” headlined there Friday nights for almost a year and I was always in the front row and stood proud watching Wifey be funny, along with her talented colleagues. I learned from her training is that rule #1 in improv is to never, ever resist your partner’s suggestion. In other words, no matter what is said, your response needs to reflect the sentiment of “Yes, and…” To summarize, improv training teaches individuals to trust one another and to follow along, no matter where it may take you. And, yes, no matter the cost. Trust your partner. I took this as advice for life and have never deviated. Read the rest of this entry »
How a Change in Routine Can Bring you Peace
Posted: January 2, 2019 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: depression, dogs, Marina del Rey, Starbucks Comments Off on How a Change in Routine Can Bring you Peace
It’s Monday night. New Year’s Eve. Work was good. But I’m in this funk that I can’t seem to shake. I really hope I can get myself out of this emotional rabbit hole in 2019. I’m at home lounging in my sweat shorts and tee shirt with Chauncey by my side. Chauncey is a White West Highland Terrier, a little larger than the norm. According to the American Kennel Club’s snooty standards, he should be between fifteen to twenty pounds. He’s a solid thirty but not chubby at all, just a big ol’ farm boy bred in Arkansas. I’m watching the latest popular true crime docuseries streaming on television. Read the rest of this entry »
How I Learned a Great Business Lesson From Wesley Snipes
Posted: July 23, 2018 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: and Passenger 57, business advice, Chips, Demolition Man, Drop Zone, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Major League, Mo' Better Blues, Wesley Snipes Comments Off on How I Learned a Great Business Lesson From Wesley Snipes
When I was freshly-landed in Hollywood and enamored by a number of my screen legend heroes, one of them was Wesley Snipes. At that time, he had been on a hot streak with hits like Major League, Mo’ Better Blues, Demolition Man, and Passenger 57. When his next film, Drop Zone, came out, I was living two blocks away from the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. On opening night, back in 1994, I made sure I was there. The plot of Drop Zone was simple and fun. Wesley Snipes and company needed to parachute into a fortress that could not be infiltrated by land or any other means. Read the rest of this entry »
The Real Truth About Suicide
Posted: June 13, 2018 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: anxiety, depression, Suicide 2 Comments
Suicide can happen to anyone. Especially on the worst day of a person’s life. Experts, pundits, and all others who want to pretend that it is something that only happens to ‘other people’ say that there is a sickness or syndrome that causes a person to clock out. The truth… the real truth… is that the same person who made this claim is probably one step from the act themselves (now or in the past), but decided to mask it out of shame or superiority. I’m here to tell you that you need not feel shame about contemplating suicide, nor sympathizing for friends or family members who have decided to commit this ultimate act. Of course it is not a choice to aspire to make, or to be happy of the outcome. However, understanding the choice and sympathizing for those who consider or commit this act is most important to our humanity. Read the rest of this entry »
Bad Funny vs. Funny: What’s the Difference?
Posted: June 4, 2018 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: stand-up comedy, venice beach Comments Off on Bad Funny vs. Funny: What’s the Difference?
In the early nineties I drove from New Jersey to Los Angeles by myself in order to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and screenwriting. I performed my stand-up routine about a hundred times, wrote two screenplays, and produced a well-received short film called “Spytown”. During that time, I also pursued a career in the family business: private investigations. Turns out, I found myself making a lot more money catching bad guys than making people laugh. So now, fast forward more than two decades, I’m the CEO of a successful private investigation firm and still have the bug for being an entertainer. In addition to developing a few writing projects while running my company, I’m also in the Los Angeles comedy scene performing the occasional stand-up spot. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Reggie Jackson Matters Now More Than Ever
Posted: May 19, 2018 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: major league baseball, reggie jackson 2 Comments
Growing up as a kid in Southern New Jersey in the late-1970’s and early 1980’s, I was exposed to some of the coolest athletes of all time through the local television stations in Philadelphia and New York. I remember being in the grocery line while food shopping with my mother and, as any child, I was looking at the candy section by the cash register when I spotted the greatest candy bar of all time. Chocolate covered caramel and peanuts in an orange wrapper bearing the name and likeness of five-time World Series Champ and two-time World Series MVP Reggie Jackson. Still to this day, the Reggie Bar is the best candy bar I’ve ever had. Not just because those ingredients are the perfect combination of snackdom, but because Reggie Jackson was the first, and (in my opinion) only, personality in that era that transcended sports. One Sunday afternoon a pre-adolescent me was watching the kid’s television show The Baseball Bunch featuring the San Diego chicken. Read the rest of this entry »
Farewell, My Friend
Posted: April 18, 2018 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: alzheimers, baseball, Beverly Hills, dementia, dodgers, freemasonry, Ionic Composite Lodge, masonry, Panama City, Suicide, The Cheesecake Factory, walker texas ranger Comments Off on Farewell, My Friend
In 2004, I was thirty-three years old and just lost my father to suicide. That next year, I went through a period where I was trying to find myself and, in doing so, made a pilgrimage to visit my grandparents and other family who moved to Florida in recent years. I reconnected with my mom’s mom and stepfather (whom I know as “Grandmom and Grandpop Peterson”), my uncle Dave Smith and his family there in Panama City, in the Florida panhandle. As my Uncle Dave put it, “This is L.A. Lower Alabama.” This trip was exactly what I needed and I was able to recharge my batteries and become centered again. I learned a lot about myself during that time. Not only did I refresh my interest in being a better man, but I also came home wanting to become a Freemason like Grandpop and Uncle Dave. During the trip, I learned that Dave was Master of his Lodge and Grandpop said becoming a Mason was the best thing he ever did. That pretty much sealed it for me. I’m going to be a Mason. Read the rest of this entry »
Running Out of Gas
Posted: March 12, 2018 Filed under: Living by Accident | Tags: AAA, big oil, Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Larry David, Seinfeld, Toyota Prius, Who Killed the Electric Car 1 Comment
I run out of gas often. Not figuratively, as you might expect from a post like this. Literally. No kidding. There is almost no thrill greater to me than seeing the fuel gauge blink for days. I believe, in life, that risk is the reward. Yes, risk is the reward, and I will stand by that. For many years I drove an SUV and had only a few days mileage on a twenty gallon tank. What a thrill! I’d run out of gas at least once a year and I’d love it. Thanks to AAA, rescue was only thirty minutes away. In 2007, I decided that my impact on the environment was bugging me. I had just seen the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car” and decided to stick it to big oil. Read the rest of this entry »
