Excerpts from several projects. They are not listed separately, so you have to muddle through some garbage to get to what you like.
Why These Olympics Are The Most Important Olympics Ever For America
by Senator Brett
I love the Olympics. Always have. Always will. When I was a kid I thought that maybe one day I would be in the Olympics as a sprinter, or maybe a soccer player. As a kid I was pretty dumb. And, as an adult, I’m still pretty dumb… but for entirely different reasons.
But, as dumb as I may be, Continue reading →
The Good Stuff, Or Something Close To It
by Senator Brett
If you happen to be still reading this book then trust me when I say that it is not lost on me that the general tone of its conversation may come across as somewhat negative, maybe even a little condemning. While I can’t answer for Continue reading →
Years ago I started writing for the sake of it. I spent nights in the streets of Houston… living it Out Loud and Without Regret. I met a lot of great people, and some, not so much. But, the experience was real… and good, and I have always appreciated it. For several years now I have not addressed it, or even tried to make contact with that past, but, I have found myself wanting to get back into it since I have found myself back in this pace for a couple of months now.
When I say that I was in “the streets” I do mean, “in the streets.” Part of what I was trying to do was to be involved in the “matter” of the moment. Being connected to the story was all that mattered to me and it ended up involving days, weeks, spent being homeless, hanging out with derelicts, and the rest. I literally lay my head on the cement for days just to get a conversation with someone who did that for years. I smoked everything with everyone just to hear them speak. When I finally hit the road to pursue the book… anything went. When it comes to the Living… there is no amount of Life that is off-Limits, I feel.
Continue reading →
Galileo vs. “God Did It!”
by Senator Brett
I’m about to say a word that might offend a lot who stand on the “religious right” side of most social and political issues.
Science.
Yeah, you heard me correctly… Continue reading →
Written by Conflicted Pastor -not me- for the book “Fumbling Through Our Faith”
The Circle of Belief
by Conflicted Pastor
There are many things in our lives that are as real as we choose to make them. Some things we dismiss immediately, while other things we choose to hang on to. What is the difference between the two? What makes us believe one thing and not another? My immediate answer to this is Continue reading →
Written, approximately, one year before Hurricane Katrina. I’m reworking it now so it will be much longer, and hopefully better, but this is the original… all those many years ago.
From New Orleans: With Awe And Wonder
by Senator Brett
It hit me like a ton of bricks. Like an unseen predator waiting in the shadows it Continue reading →
Old Man McCarron hung his raincoat on the coat rack directly behind his front door and carefully leaned the umbrella into its usual place behind it as he entered his gray, one-story duplex half in the historic part of town. Almost by instinct he glanced over towards the small desk that had found a home in the corner immediately to his right to check and see if his answering machine had been doing its job while he’d been out. The frightfully small desk was Continue reading →
I wrote this when I was nineteen, or twenty. I forget. Anyway, I worked at The Galleria in Houston in retail sales at a now defunct clothing store. For those of you that have never been there, The Galleria has an ice rink on the bottom level, located amidst the stores and restaurants that line Floor One, it serves as not only a tourist attraction, but also a serious training facility. After the normal ice rink hours are over the rink is reserved for “personal” training. And, it’s not scrubs that skate there at that time… medaled Olympians have skated there. Continue reading →
I wrote this quite a few years back (maybe 16 years ago, maybe a little more) and never really got around to getting it to where I wanted it. As I was working on some things tonight I came across it again and thought that maybe I’d pass it along.
Just so you know… I wrote the original part of this on the plane and gave it to the girl after I collected my luggage. When I got home I sat down at my desk and did my best to reconstruct the letter. I think it is pretty close to what I originally wrote, but I can’t be certain of that fact. And, since that time I have often wondered if she ever read it, or if it helped her at all. I hope it did. And, if it did not… well, I know it helped me. And, maybe, just maybe, for some of you… it might help, as well.
Continue reading →
In The Beginning There Was Nonsense
by Senator Brett
Fiat Lux
Yeah, I said it. I’ll say it again. Fiat lux. I bet that you don’t know what that means. Well I do, as should you. (Well, okay, let’s be honest, Continue reading →
Senator Brett