I know quite a few people struggling with grief right now. I can’t say that I know for sure that Jim Carrey said this, but it is too good not to share:
Jim Carrey once said: Grief is not just an emotion—it’s an unraveling, a space where something once lived but is now gone. It carves through you, leaving a hollow ache where love once resided.
In the beginning, it feels unbearable, like a wound that will never close. But over time, the raw edges begin to mend. The pain softens, but the imprint remains—a quiet reminder of what once was. The truth is, you never truly “move on.” You move with it. The love you had does not disappear; it transforms. It lingers in the echoes of laughter, in the warmth of old memories, in the silent moments where you still reach for what is no longer there. And that’s okay.
Grief is not a burden to be hidden. It is not a weakness to be ashamed of. It is the deepest proof that love existed, that something beautiful once touched your life. So let yourself feel it. Let yourself mourn. Let yourself remember.
There is no timeline, no “right” way to grieve. Some days will be heavy, and some will feel lighter. Some moments will bring unexpected waves of sadness, while others will fill you with gratitude for the love you were lucky enough to experience.
Honor your grief, for it is sacred. It is a testament to the depth of your heart. And in time, through the pain, you will find healing—not because you have forgotten, but because you have learned how to carry both love and loss together.
This book kept coming up in blogs I read and as a recommendation on Goodreads. I was in between books and saw that this was a relatively short audiobook, so I read it. Small Things Like These is book that makes you think.
It felt more like a short story or novella to me, and when it ended, I wanted to know more. The Goodreads Synopsis is short (so is the book, so I guess it makes sense). Here it is:
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.
Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.
I felt that there was a great message in the story, but it probably could have been delivered in a shorter story. Don’t let that steer you away from it, because the “extra” stuff gives you a broader sense of the characters and makes the story’s message hit a bit harder.
The book ends quickly. I almost felt like maybe the audio book wasn’t completely done. I felt like further chapters were missing. That isn’t the case and the ending leaves you wondering what happened afterward. It’s a bit open ended in a way that you can sort or imagine what happened next.
While searching for information on the book, I found out that it has already been made into a film last year. The movie seems to follow the book, however, it ends a little different than the book. Hollywood tends to take creative license with books turned into movies.
At any rate, if you are looking for a quick read, this may be for you. The audiobook was about 2 hours.
Last week at soccer, one of the drills that we did with the team was like bowling. We set up cones with one in front, two behind that, and three in the back. The kids had to throw the ball overhand and try to knock down the cones. Then they had to kick the ball at the pins to try to knock them all down.
The other coach with me asked if any of the kids had ever been bowling before. Ella raised her hand as said that she had, “but I had help rolling the ball.” I laughed because I knew exactly what she meant.
There is a bowling alley close by and I took my oldest sons and Ella there. She had to be about one at the time. The boys were so helpful that day. She loved watching the ball roll slowly down the lane and hit the pins.
I remember how cute those tiny bowling shoes looked on her. I honestly didn’t think they’d have them in her size! It’s been too long since we all went bowling, and we should go soon. I doubt I could even throw the ball anymore, but it’d be fun to watch the kids….
I have mentioned how messes raise my anxiety levels. When the kids are playing in slime, or with play dough, or painting I am anxiously awaiting the mess.
They have a sandbox that they love to play in. Naturally, the sand winds up on the side porch, in their shoes, on the driveway, in the road, and in their hair. My wife, Sam, decided that they needed a “Mud Kitchen.” The idea is that they can make mud pies, etc…
Andrew and my father-in-law built the frame out of scrap wood. I ran up to the store to get bags of top soil to fill the frame. My wife went to the dollar store and bought containers, bowls, spoons and such so they could play in it. At first it wasn’t so bad. They the added some water.
They had mud all over themselves. I had to spray them down with the hose before I could even let them inside the house. I know that someday soon I will put on a shoe that will be filled with topsoil – or mud!
Mother’s Day was full of surprises, even if my wife had to sleep through it, because she worked the night before. Ella brought her home a flower from preschool for her. She was so happy to give it to mommy.
The kids and I had to run out to Home Depot on Saturday (more on why in a paragraph or two). While we were there we walked through the garden area. Andrew saw a hanging flower/plant that he though mom would like, so we bought it and actually got to hang it from the shepherd’s hook in the yard.
Sam has always loved gnomes. For her birthday one year I bought her a birdbath with a gnome sitting in front of a mushroom. The mushroom stem goes up to hold the mushroom top, which is the actual bath for the birds. There was a cute gnome that had mushrooms rising up around him that light up at night. So we bought that to put by the birdbath.
Earlier in the week, our dryer stopped spinning. It made noise when you turned it on like it wanted to spin, but it didn’t. After Googling, all the sites pointed to a broken belt broken pulley or a bad roller. I ordered a kit online and after watching YouTube, decided I could do this job myself.
The first thing I had to do was shut off the gas. So I went downstairs and found the only shut off valve I could find.
After I turned that off, I went upstairs to disconnect the hose from the dryer. As soon as the nut was loosened, I could hear the gas pouring out of the hose. It took me a bit to get it back on, and now the entire house smelled like gas.
It took me almost an hour of following pipes around looking for another shut off valve. There is a space right above the furnace that is like a dark hole. There is no light up there, and it is such an odd place for a valve, but it was the only place I hadn’t checked. After getting up and in a position where I could shine the flashlight, sure enough, there it was!
I watched step by step and did exactly what the video showed me to do. I kid you not, I almost had the dryer completely taken apart for this job. I pulled the drum and checked the belt, which looked ok. I looked at all four rollers and they looked ok, too. The pulley for the belt looked like it might be going bad, so I thought maybe that was the culprit.
After replacing the belt, the rollers and the pulley, I watched the video on how to put it back together. Once it was together, it was time for the moment of truth. I turned on the power and selected a cycle. I hit start and ….. it was still making the noise and still not spinning. I was devastated. I truly thought that I could fix it.
The aftermath of a wasted afternoon
Monday after we dropped Ella off at school, Andrew asked if I wanted to take a walk. I was thrilled that he wanted to do that! We walked the entire neighborhood and he talked almost the entire way. He asked questions, pointed out dogs, talked about which cars were the same colors as ours, and watched squirrels run around.
It was a highlight of the day.
Tuesday, Ella had her first T-Ball game. I’m going to have to find days to take off so I can watch her play. Sam says she is like a different player this year. She is hitting pitches that the coaches pitch and catching/fielding balls like crazy. I’m thankful for mommy taking pictures for me.
Yesterday was one long list of things to do. My wife and kids were out almost all day doing something. When they got home they all went to bed.
This morning, Andrew had an early doctor appointment. It was close to where I work. So Sam suggested that before this work training meeting I had to be at meeting at a park. There is one about 2-3 miles from work. Ella and I met Andrew and mom there. The kids got to run and play with new friends and Sam and I got a little time to sit and enjoy each other’s company.
Being stuck at work is not the way I wanted to spend my birthday, but at least this morning I got to be with some of the most important people in my life!
Thank you, AI, for making me look thrilled to be turning 55 today.
I’m not sure exactly when the excitement of turning another year older started to fade. Today, it is just another day, despite everyone trying to make it a big deal.
The folks at work all signed a card and brought brownies and tasty treats to celebrate yesterday. My brother has brought out his A Game and has been posting pictures with “old” jokes on my Facebook all week. My kids know that birthday mean cake, so they are excited about that. Then there is the internet:
I honestly thought I had at least another 10 years before being considered a “senior.” Apparently not.
I’m not sure how I feel about turning 55. There is an awareness that I have reached an age where I realize that there are more years behind me than in front of me. The older I get the more I try to make every day mean something. There is that fear of the unknown – how many more grains are in the top of the hourglass?
I suppose I’m a little confused about these overwhelming feelings. I’ve had plenty of birthdays. In the last year or so, I feel like we’ve finally come up with the right “cocktail” of meds to make me feel good. However, as this birthday approached, I found my thoughts turning to my age, my life, and just how fragile and short life can be.
I guess I should decide right here and right now to embrace my age and do whatever I can to make an impact every day. I looked for some sort of “feel good” quotes to help…
“Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” —Satchel Paige
“Aging is just another word for living.” —Cindy Joseph
“Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.” —Larry Lorenzoni
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old. You grow old when you stop laughing.” —George Bernard Shaw
“My belief is that it’s a privilege to get older—not everybody gets to get older.” —Cameron Diaz
“Having a birthday is like reaching a higher peak on a mountain. Pause to admire the view; reflect on how far you have come.” — Richelle Goodrich, “Being Bold”
“Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.” — Mark Twain
“Getting old is a fascinating thing. The older you get, the older you want to get.” —Keith Richards
LOL – No wonder Keith Richards is still around!
Well, at least AI made me look happier celebrating my birthday with Dino…
This is sort of a continuation of the Music of My Life feature. It focused on music from 1970-2025. It featured tunes that have special meaning to me, brought back a certain memory or a tune that I just really like. I found that with the first three decades, there were songs that I didn’t feature. So I sat down with my original lists and selected some songs that “bubbled under,” so to speak.
I figured a good way to present them was to focus on a decade. 10 years = 1 song per year = 10 songs. Last week I featured the 80’s. This week 10 more 80’s tunes before we move on to the 90’s. So, let’s check out a few “Decade Extras.”
1980
While I was never a truck driver, we certainly listened to Eddie Rabbitt’s Drivin’ My Life Away a lot while driving my my folks. I’m sure it was one of the songs my dad had recorded on 8-track to listen to on our drives up north.
This song was the first song that really made Eddie a crossover artist. The song went to number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. I Love A Rainy Night followed and hit #1 on the Hot 100, Country and Adult Contemporary Charts. Step By Step and You and I followed in 1981 and 1982 as crossover hits.
It is one of many Eddie Rabbitt songs I love.
Driving My Life Away
1981
Originally done by Tommy James and the Shondells, Mony Mony was covered by Billy Idol. Billy first released his version as a single in 1981, his first as a solo artist after leaving the band Generation X. His live version of the song went to #1 in 1987.
It was a big song at weddings and schools dances. However, it quickly made many school’s “Do Not Play” list. Why? It became popular for kids to shout “hey, hey, what, get laid, get f–ked” during the instrumental break in the chorus. I found this out the hard way at a school prom. I had a lot of requests for the song and when I played it the kids went crazy. When they shouted out the vulgar chant, it only took seconds for a teacher to come up and tell me to turn it off. Apparently, the chant is still shouted at Billy’s concerts.
Weird Al Yankovic did a parody of Billy’s version called “Alimony” on his Even Worse album in 1988.
Mony Mony
1982
It took two releases for the next song to get noticed. I can still remember going to the record store and buying Built For Speed by the Stray Cats. Rock This Town was such a cool thing to hear on the radio for me. My dad played a lot of Rockabilly stuff for me growing up, so I had to go get this album.
When Stray Cat Strut was first released in August of 1982, it didn’t even crack the Hot 100. I think it stopped at #109. Then Rock This Town was released and the band got noticed. The record company decided to re-release Stray Cat Strut and this time it debuted at #43 and went all the way to #3.
Michigan Trivia: Detroiters may remember that WRIF’s (101 FM) JJ and the Morning Crew a parody of this called “Fat Cat Strut.”
Stray Cat Strut
1983
The Eurythmics are Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart who actually dated for a while. Lennox said in an interview that they wrote this song after the two had a huge fight. Dave came up with a beat, Annie improvised the synthesizer riff, and suddenly they realized they had a potential hit.
In an interview with songfacts.com, Stewart said “We thought we’d made something really special but we had no idea, really, the impact it would have. Neither did the record label, which didn’t even think it was a single.”
Three other songs from the album were released as singles in the UK before their label, RCA, finally issued “Sweet Dreams.” When they did, it took off, climbing to #2.
Songfacts says about the video:
The video presented Lennox with close-cropped orange hair and a tailored black suit, making it the first popular video presenting an androgynous female. The cow in the video was Dave Stewart’s idea – he was a big fan of surreal artists Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel. Said Stewart: “A few people were saying, ‘Dave, why the cow? Annie is so good looking.’ Those people should go buy a copy of Purple Cow by Seth Dogin, about how to make your business remarkable. It was written 20 years after I had the purple cow in our video – which certainly did the trick and made my whole life remarkable.”
The cow, while very eye-catching, posed a logistical problem because most studios can’t accommodate them. Eurythmics found a basement studio in London with an elevator big enough to transport the animal. Lennox recalls the shoot with the bovine walking around as being one of the more surreal experiences of her life.
This song used to drive my former sister-in-law crazy. I’m not sure why, but whenever I DJ’s a family party or an event that she was at, I always played this song.
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
1984
The next song got it’s title from a 1979 movie. Time After Time is the name of a 1979 science fiction movie starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells, whose time machine is stolen by Jack The Ripper, who uses it to travel from 1893 to 1979. Wells follows him into the future and goes on a quest to stop him from killing.
Cyndi Lauper wrote the song with Rob Hyman of The Hooters. Hyman told Songfacts: “When she saw Time After Time, something clicked. She said, ‘I think I have a title.'”
Once the title was in place, they set about writing the song. Hyman explained: “I was sitting at the piano and just started banging out what would eventually be the chorus, hook, and the way we sing it. It almost had like a reggae feel, it was a little bouncier and a little more upbeat. We started getting off on that chorus, then the verse melodies started to appear.
It’s a deceptively simple song. The verses are just a little repeating three-note motif – almost like a nursery rhyme, a very simple song. Then we started to realize we were on to something. The mood of the lyrics came from both of us. I think Cyndi came in and really started the lyric flow, then all of the sudden we realized it wasn’t such a bouncy song, but it was a little more bittersweet and a little deeper in its feeling and a little more poignant, so the music started to change. We wrote a little bridge section and I think the last thing we really wrote was the chorus. We had ‘Time After Time,’ we just had to get the words that would surround it.”
This song surprised me. Compared to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and She Bop, this song was kind of deep. This one and True Colors really made me appreciate her talent.
Time After Time
1985
My Detroit Tigers are doing very well so far this season. I hope they keep it up! From 1985, here is a song that I have written about in the past Centerfield.
Centerfield
1986
My dad always played me classics from Elvis, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. I remember my dad coming home and saying, “Keith, you gotta hear this Little Richard song.” It was a song that was featured in the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills with Richard Dreyfus.
Honestly, it sounded like something he could have done in the 50’s. Great Gosh A’Mighty must have been the cleaned up version for the film, because Little Richard also recorded a Great God Almighty version, too.
The song is always one I play on repeat on the iPod.
Great Gosh A’Mighty
1987
Randy Travis was one of the coolest country stars I’ve had the chance to meet. He was so down to earth and friendly. We talked about music, family and faith. It was like talking to an old friend.
I feel Forever and Ever, Amen is right up in the Top 10 best country songs of all time. It was written by two of the best songwriters in Nashville – Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. The two had already wrote Randy’s hit “On the Other Hand,” and I love the story of how this one came to be.
Overstreet told Songfacts:
“I had played about 36 holes of golf that day, and Don says, ‘I’ve got this idea we have to write.’ His new fiancée’s little boy was learning the Lord’s Prayer, and he was going around saying ‘forever and ever amen’ after everything. He would say, ‘Mommy, I love you. Forever and ever, amen.’ So Don said, ‘We’ve got to write this.’ I said, ‘How about tomorrow?’ He says, ‘No, now.'”
They got together on Overstreet’s front porch that night and composed the song by candlelight. Confident it was a hit, they recorded a demo the next day and sent it to Travis, who made it the lead single to his second album, Always & Forever. It was indeed a hit, spending three weeks at the top of the Country chart, longer than any other song in 1987.
Forever and Ever, Amen
1988
Another cover song on the list – this time, a cover of Elvis Presley. I remember hearing Cheap Trick’s version of Don’t Be Cruel and loving it! I remember really digging the spots in the song where that running bass line can be heard. The key change was something that stood out for me.
I hate to diss on the King, but I almost love the Cheap Trick version a bit more. There is so much going on that really takes the song to another level – that drum beat, the fake cold ending, the guitar solo and so much more. I played the heck out of this 45
Don’t Be Cruel
1989
The final pick comes from the movie UHF from Weird Al Yankovic. In a recent Turntable Talk feature, I talked about the David Lee Roth video for Just a Gigolo. At the end of it, I wondered if Dave borrowed from the music video for UHF’s title song.
While the video for the song is hilarious and brilliant, the song itself is one of my favorites from Al. It is not a parody, rather an original. It is a song that sounds like something you would hear on the radio in ’89. It has an alternative rock feel to it.
It’s an underrated and often forgotten Al song
UHF
What a way to wrap up the 80’s! I hope you heard some tunes you liked, too. Next week we’ll move on to the 1990’s and see what songs bubbled under my original list. See you then!
Today I want to wish Stevie Wonder a Happy 75th Birthday! He is a Michigan Hometown Hero as he was born in Saginaw, MI in 1950.
When I went to pick a Stevie Wonder song to feature today, I was overwhelmed. He had so many hits to choose from. I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise because he’s been making hit records since he was 13 years old. That is when his song “Fingertips Part II” went all the way to number one!
His hits include: Uptight, Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours, Superstition, Sir Duke, For Once in My Life, You Are the Sunshine of My Life, and so many more. It is no wonder that he is often referred to as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Wonder recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and also wrote and produced songs for many of his label mates and outside artists as well.
Photo Credit: Todocoleccion.net
Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday is a song that was written by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells. Ron was known for writing many Motown hit’s in the 60’s and 70’s. (He also wrote another Stevie Wonder hit – For Once In My Life.) The song was originally recorded in 1966 by another Motown artist named Chris Clark. Stevie had recorded it in 1967.
At the time the song was released in 1969, Wonder was going through some vocal problems and was required to wait before recording a song. Due to this, instead of making Wonder record new ones, Motown decided to release songs that he had recorded years earlier. Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday was one of them.
The song reached #7 on the Hot 100 chart in December of 1969. It became his ninth Top Ten record.
The song fits right in with my blog, because the song itself is based in nostalgia. Happy Birthday, Stevie!!!
It was on this day in 1994 that Pulp Fiction premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Today’s song is one that you will recognize immediately if you have seen the movie, but you probably had no idea what it was called. The song is Miserlou from Dick Dale and His Del-Tones.
No one knows who the original author of the song is, but it was around as early as the 1920’s. It was during that time that the song was popular with Greek, Arabic, and Jewish musicians. The earliest recording of the song was back in 1927. The song was often a choice for belly dancers to dance to.
Dick Dale recorded the song back in 1962. It was sort of popular around that time as part of the “Surf Rock” craze. It wasn’t until 1994 that the song gained wide spread recognition after it was featured in Pulp Fiction.
The song has been covered by trumpeter Harry James, pianist Vince Guaraldi (of Charlie Brown fame), and even the Beach Boys. Dick Dale covered himself when he rerecorded the song with a faster tempo in 1975.
In honor of Pulp Fiction’s premier 31 years ago – lets go surfin’ with Dick and the Del-Tones
Mother’s Day is one of celebration and sorrow for me. I celebrate my wife and her being the mother of Ella and Andrew. At the same time, I remember the woman who gave birth to me – my mom.
She’s been gone 19 years and yet there is still a hurt in my heart. I miss her and wish she could be here to spoil her grandchildren, share embarrassing stories of me with my wife, and hug me one more time.
Today, Facebook was full of “Missing Mom” Poems. Some really hit home. Knowing that some of my blogger friends and readers have also lost their mom’s, I thought I’d share a few.
First, this one from Jac Judy A Campbell
Every day must be a celebration in your newfound heavenly home,
But our Mother’s Day is forever empty for your children here below.
There will be no bouquet of roses, no gifts, no cards, no hugs,
No connection to call to hear your voice to tell you how much you’re loved.
Each day I see you in my mirrors, you’re in my flowerbeds outside.
I know you live within my children as I can see you in their eyes.
Every day I feel you’re near me, But it’s just not the same.
I miss your arms to hold me. I miss you calling out my name.
So I just want to tell you because you’re far away
I miss you more today than I did yesterday.
I know you’re content and peaceful as God shines his light on you
And He showers you with joy and blessings all the whole day through.
So happy heavenly Mother’s Day, Mom. With abundance of love from me to you.
This one was from an anonymous author:
When your mother dies it doesn’t matter how old you are.
You still feel like an orphan because you’ve lost your guiding star.
She’s the one you’ve always turned to whenever anything went wrong.
She’s the one who cleaned your skinned knees and chased nightmares away with a song.
She was there to celebrate all your important days with you,
Like birthdays, and holidays, and your very first day of school.
It was easy to take her for granted because you knew she’d always be there,
Until the day that she wasn’t, and you discovered life truly wasn’t fair.
So each Mother’s Day take a moment to remember the best things about her,
Like her gentle hands and open arms, and how close the two of you were.
And you can be sure she’s in Heaven thinking of you on this day above any other.
That’s because you are the wonderful reason that she became a mother.
This one is from Claudia Lee
I awake each morning to start a new day, But the pain of losing you never goes away. I go about the things I have to do, And as the hours pass, I think again of you.
I want to call you and just hear your voice. Then I remember that I have no choice, For you are not there and now my heart cries Just to see you again, to tell you goodbye.
To say, “Mama I love you and I always will,” And hope that much of you in me you’ve instilled. The day that you left I just didn’t know That you were going where I couldn’t go.
And now all my memories of you are so dear, But gosh, how I miss you and wish you were here. Who now can hear me when I need to cry? It’s so hard to tell you, “Mama goodbye.”
Someday I know all will be well And I’ll see you again with stories to tell Of how you were missed and how we have grown And how good it is to finally be home.
Until then my memories of you I’ll keep near, And I’ll pass them on to those who are dear.
I miss you, Mama!
Finally from Kathy J. Parenteau:
If I could have just one more day and wishes did come true, I’d spend every glorious moment side by side with you.
Recalling all the years we shared and memories we made, how grateful I would be to have just one more day.
Where the tears I’ve shed are not in vain and only fall in bliss. So many things I’d let you know about the days you’ve missed.
I wouldn’t have to make pretend you never went away. How grateful I would be to have just one more day.
When that day came to a close and the sun began to set, a million times I’d let you know I never will forget
The heart of gold you left behind when you entered Heaven’s gate. How grateful I would be to have just one more day.
The responsibilities and duties of motherhood are many and overwhelming at times. Despite that, she takes her role seriously. More often than not, she goes above and beyond as mom.
I’ve said before that being a mom is a full time job in itself. Sam, essentially, has two full time jobs. She puts in her 40 hours at work and then comes home to her “mom job.”
I cannot begin to tell you how many times she has gone without sleep to do something for the kids. Almost everything they do falls within my work hours, so she takes care of things.
She’s at doctor appointments, she does school pickups, she does T-ball, and she does dance. Many times, the stuff I can do on my days off, she will be there, too!
She is the boo boo kisser, the deescalator of melt downs, the taxi driver, the head chef, the storyteller/book reader, she’s the house cleaner, the voice of reason, the “better” hugger, the kids encourager of imaginative play, and personal shopper. She reminds dad that making messes is “what kids do,” and “If they are getting dirty, that means they’re having fun!”
A phrase that is often used is that she “is the glue that holds everything together.” There is so much truth to this. I know that there are many times that amongst the chaos, she steps in and helps everyone see what the others are feeling. She shines light on other’s perspectives and calms the storm.
I hope that she knows just how much she means to us and how important she is! She deserves much more than one day of recognition! She deserves celebrations, parades, and more for all she does.
Happy Mother’s Day, Baby! We all love you to “the North Star and back!”
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 