PART THREE: THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF DONATING (Click here for Part Two: To Buy and Not to Buy) Now that we’ve got our virtual festivities in place, and we’ve made some smarter shopping choices, let’s talk about donating during the holidays. It warms my heart to see just how…

PART TWO: TO BUY AND NOT TO BUY (CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE: Alternatives to In-Person Gatherings) “You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me in your garbage. You see what I’m saying? In your GARBAGE! I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I find at the dump. And…

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: it’s been one heck of a year. A pandemic, politics, poverty, loss, and uncertainty have wreaked such havoc on 2020, and the end isn’t quite in sight. Still, the holidays are looming just around the corner and a lot of us are…

Author’s Note: Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind closed a few years ago when Greg Allen revoked performance rights in Chicago, but the Neos I know still put on a weekly show called The Infinite Wrench. I have yet to have the pleasure of seeing it live, but…

Author’s Note: this was a piece written for a virtual time capsule about life during COVID-19, on day #119 in self-quarantine. …

We’re living in a wild time where everyone is physically distanced. As social creatures, we are in need of fulfilling emotional connections now more than ever. Thankfully, communicative technology is at its most efficient and accessible. But screen fatigue is a real thing, and sometimes we want to do more…

We’ve entered month three of quarantine over in my neck of the woods. While coping strategies differ among my friends, family, and peers, it seems that we’ve all found some solace by delving into hobbies that maybe we didn’t have a lot of time for pre-COVID. My particular hobby —…

Names are a funny thing. You see, when an author wants something to become ‘real’ to a reader — be it a place, a person, or even a fictitious concept — they give it a name. ‘Jack’s Pub’ or ‘The Brass Ring Tavern’ instead of ‘the bar’. ‘Dr. Richard Aberline’…

April is National Autism Awareness month — an entire month dedicated to educating the masses on Autism Spectrum Disorder, inspiring inclusion and acceptance, and promoting the changes necessary to do both on a national scale. It’s a vibrant time that truly celebrates neurodiversity. …