Warrior on Fleek

 I feel a certain level of sadness for cookie cutter Millenial kids.  It feels like they’re each living in a hellish little fish bowl, always worried about others’ perceptions of them. Perhaps that’s due to social media and how it’s made everyone’s private affairs a public spectacle. Or maybe it’s always been that way and my 44 years of life have colored my memory over time.  Here’s how I addressed this issue with a particular youngster who is overly concerned with appearances: “I don’t know if I’ve told you, but I’ve been through a lot. I wouldn’t have survived if my attitude was that of a contemporary twenty-something. And it’s not that I don’t care about how other people feel. I care very deeply, almost too deeply, about others.  It’s just that I don’t really care what people think of me. And quite frankly, other people’s opinions of me are not my business. “Nobody gets to middle age without going through stuff.  My father died suddenly the same we...

     I have been alone for two years now.  Initially the flavor was a taste of sweet, blissful freedom.  No longer confined to the constraints of an unhappy marriage, I truly felt that I was ready to soar.  It was bittersweet, in that the most important person in my life, my hero, my father, passed away the same week that I asserted my freedom, but I no longer felt that I was suffocated by the constant bickering and fighting that was the hallmark of my 17 years of marriage.  Soon thereafter I began to suffocate, once again.  The air in the house was full of bad memories.  The community in which I lived was stifling me.  I needed a change.     I moved to a new community.  I sold my huge beautiful home and moved into a tiny one bedroom apartment.  I was pleased with my decision.  My new living space was cramped, but it was all mine.  It was a blank space with no memories of my former misery.  A year ago...

     Spoiler alert: I am not going to tell you to watch this series, but I am not going to tell you not  to watch it either.  Like life and teen angst, it's complicated.  This series is a must-see for some people.  However, it may trigger some very strong emotions in others, which may make it a must-not-see for them.  Here's why...      From a purely artistic standpoint, Thirteen Reasons Why was outstanding.  The acting was phenomenal.  Neophyte, Katherine Langford, became angst ridden Hannah Baker.  Dylan Minette was a highly believable teen nerd, Clay Jensen, one of the very few characters who has a strong conscience.  Tony, portrayed by Christian Navarro, is a guardian angel of sorts. Every character in the series goes through internal conflict and turmoil, and every actor portrays that conflict.  The roles were each written to be multi-demnsional which makes it believable.  This series contains a ...