“He’d stop and buy $100 worth of Slim Jims and have him in a briefcase and, driving an hour or two, you get hungry, he’d sell them to us and triple the price.” Ed King, 1949 – 2018
Life
Black Coffee
I love coffee. Specifically, black coffee. When I order a black coffee, I am regularly asked: Would you like anything in it? Should we leave room for cream or sugar? Am I deluded about the meaning of the phrase “black coffee?” Are the baristas at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts taught […]
Exit Interview
I just finished reading Anthony Bourdain’s last interview. As usual, I agreed with some of what he said, disagreed with more, and was thoroughly entertained throughout. In any case, there is nothing here to suggest a man on the brink. When a celebrity commits suicide, we tell ourselves that they […]
Anthony Bourdain
“I like building things. I like making things. I liked making plates of food. I was a very happy dishwasher. You know, the plates went into the dishwasher dirty and they came out clean every time. And that felt good.” – Anthony Bourdain, 1956-2018
Meditation: Sense and Nonsense
When I was first learning to meditate, I looked for a teacher. There weren’t many options in Pittsburgh back then, and the Pittsburgh Shambhala Meditation Center looked like one of the better options. By all accounts, they offered solid meditation instruction to beginners and they seemed like nice, ordinary folks. (For […]