Synchronicity is a term I have come to cherish since being introduced to it by my favorite psychologist, Carl G Jung. It refers to deeply meaningful coincidences that mysteriously occur in one’s life. Jung proved by the law of probability that they were not mere coincidences but insights into our rich and worthwhile lives.
Continue readingTag Archives: Brewerytown
‘Brewerytown Way’ Brought Back to Life
I see my life through the eyes of a kid who grew up in Brewerytown, swashbuckling my way through fights on the streets and later the jungles of Vietnam before finding my true calling as a spiritual clarion who wants all North Philadelphia children to return to their God-given Nature of Love. Continue reading
Serving graciously as a St. Ludwig altar boy
“Ad Deum Qui Laetificat Juventutem Meam!”
That’s one of the prayers I’d recite as an altar boy at St. Ludwig’s Roman Catholic Church, and I’ll never forget it ‘til the day I die. Don’t ask me what it means right now. I never figured it out as a kid, but I loved to say it!  Continue reading
The Ice Man Cometh for Me and for Thee
It was the ice on the truck that beckoned to me when I was six years old and playing on the one-way street near my home in North Philadelphia. Continue reading
Brewerytown never too far behind me
No matter where I go, Philadelphia will always go with me. I’ve taken the old neighborhood to combat in Vietnam as well as to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. I let it shine in the courthouses of Philadelphia and the one and only house of pleasure I visited in Panama.
A ‘Lot of Heart’ can go a Long Way in Life!
Kids I grew up with in the tough section of North Philadelphia said that I had “a lot of heart.” I cherish that statement more than any I later heard as a teenager, a young adult, or someone older looking back on what made him the proudest in his short lifetime.
Contentment: Learning to be Content OK
“Good Enough” is the lazy man’s way to enlightenment . . . There’s nothing more to do . . . Your job is good enough . . . Your spouse is good enough . . .Your life is good enough . . . Your meditation practice is good enough. . . You don’t need anything more, and what you now have is good enough. —
Growing up with Catholic Sisters (Nuns)!
While growing up in a Catholic School, I met all kinds of nuns. Some I liked more than others.
Graduation Highlights Father-Son Ties
One of the most wonderful moments of my life occurred without my knowing it. Had I the presence of mind to be more present for things that mattered, I might not have missed it. Recalling what this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence must have been like, however, is the second-best way I know of memorializing it.  Continue reading
Recalling childhood angels with dirty faces
I can think of no worse place to be than in a church, a temple, or a synagogue when an unbidden and involuntary giggle would invade my psyche and take control of me. A “giggle” is too mild a word: uncontrollable laughter would rise to the level of guffaws and downright knee-slappers, right at the most somber parts of a religious service. Continue reading
These are the True Signs of Our Times!
When I read the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators were unfocused and without a coherent message, I took a closer look at them in Philadelphia, and discovered some were disheveled street persons looking for handouts, and one was a graduate school political science major spouting Marxist teaching.
Kabbalah To Mingle With Buddhist Jaunt
What do Israel and India have in common with Istanbul and Amsterdam? Other than all starting with a vowel?
Short Stature Grows Larger With Love
A Taste of Heaven offered Here on Earth
Pizza Pie and a Chocolate Milkshake.
Each drew me like an oasis to a man walking alone in a desert.
Injustice Should Make Us All ‘Go Berserk’
“Going Berserk” has always had a wicked appeal to me.
Going AWOL helps a boy grow into a man
Went AWOL while a private in the US Army in 1968
Continue readingThe Great Awakening can be hard on a guy
Ashamed. Impure. Dirty.
All these feelings flashed through me as I slowly came out of what seemed like a trance, halfway between sleep and wakefulness, only to notice growth at a part of my body where there was none before.
A tough road makes journey a little easier
When my father spoke Greek with the disciplinarian of the Catholic High School where I played hooky at age 14, I thought I had it made.
Continue readingBestowing spirit & essence to a new friend
I told someone I’d give up my life for them. And, I meant it. Continue reading
Pitching pennies provides pinch per police
Street Corner Society Beckoned to Me
Radio Plays to My No. 1 Heart’s Desire
Music touched an emotional chord in me that may have been different from most folks.
College Life Repeats Itself Each Generation
Sat next to a long hair, skinny, “Hippie” guy at an orientation in a community college yesterday, and felt thrown back to a time years ago, sitting cross-legged on the floor across from a similar fellow wondering what the hell I was doing there.
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Act of Contrition Helps Regain My Purity
Got Blanket Absolution yesterday. And, it felt so good, I became a 12-year-old again. Ready to face the world with a clear conscious and a pure heart.
‘I confess!’ I cut school with Franny O
I’m going to confess. I played hooky in seventh grade and refused to “squeal” on the kid I stayed out of class with that day.
When Coincidence Occurs, Look Out & In!
Uncanny coincidences kept cropping up yesterday as I attended a gathering of one of those “Meet-Up” groups.
‘Five Jaunts’ Create a Life-Long Harmony
The bottle of Listerine spilled, and the car smelled of antiseptic. A ‘57 Chevy should never suffer such an indignation.
Monkey See, and, Alas, Monkey Will Do!
The fool showed up uninvited to the Wildwood, NJ, beach house and created a mess good folk hardly talk about now-a-days. He sat “Indian style” on the living room rug with Billy Kane, both about the same age, 18 to 19. There were two or three other guys drinking beer as Billy passed ‘em around.
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Soft Pretzels, a Philadelphia Comfort Food
“You want mutard?,” the Pretzel Man would ask as he took your nickel and broke off three little “figure eight” soft pretzels. “Yes,” I’d say, mouthwatering for a topping that would make Philadelphia soft pretzels one of the great snacks of the Western World.
Goin’ to farm; pick blueberries barefooted
Cousin Rosemarie Lieb.
War stories penetrate a family gathering
The knife “broke skin” and went an inch into my back.
The Gospel According to Bobby Darin
Wasn’t sure a Gospel Song would fit in with Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) at a music appreciation meet last week.
City differences create a variety in my life
Cherry-Chocolate
Soda
I’d give anything to taste the flavor of a that drink again.
Not the ones from a bottle. A soda fountain drink! Nothing compares to the delicious mixture of “realchocolate” and cherry syrups combined with that seltzer-like substance that produced a drink that could have originated only in Paradise.
Continue readingAl Brown Taught me a Lesson of a Lifetime
I always looked up to Al Brown. I met him when I was only eight-and-a-half years old in the 1950s.
‘Do the Right Thing’–do what’s right for you
Part II from Escaping-Brewerytown
The moment of truth came down to one question: “Who else was with you?”
Escaping Brewerytown in 1 Piece Not Easy
I never took my eyes off the gun. The man’s hand shook. I was afraid it would go off. Raising my own hands, I prayed that he would not shoot, and said “I’m coming out,” slowly climbing out of the window, placing one foot on the ground and then the other as I exited the ACME supermarket warehouse building two blocks from my home. Continue reading
Love Generates With No Reason at All!
I Tasted Love before entering an Age of Reason.
I had not reached 7, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was attending a birthday party for a friend of my brother, John, who is two years older than me. Her name was Carolyn, and the love I felt came from her sister, Regina Gross, who the older kids enjoyed “fixing up” with me, her school classmate.
Courtroom awakens karma understanding
One of the most humbling times in my life occurred in Court.
Going back home sans the Maidenform bra
What’s the biggest lie you ever told?
Values don’t change in impermanent world
I was 18 when I asked Janet to marry me, and she turned my request down flat.
Dance floor good place to learn to play ball
Two girls fought over me once. Continue reading
Hit upside the head provides a life lesson
The detective hit me across the face with a back hand, and I knew I was in trouble.
Hopping Trains Fools No One but Myself
I’ll Never Hop a Train Again.
Dream of Swinging on a Star Rings Out
Part II Smith’s Playground inspires years later
Reaching out with my right hand, I’d grab the metal ring. I would stand on my toes to pull it closer to the wooden platform I was balanced on.
Dream of Smith’s Playground Inspires Me
Childhood long gone, I’d dream about the “monkey swing” at Smith’s Playground whenever I wanted to achieve something worthwhile in my life.
Getting ‘Fired’ up for Singing Debut on TV
Mister JR Johnson fired me when he caught me “entertaining” friends at his place of business.
Remembering the Greatest Time of my Life
What does your first memorable kiss, and then scoring a break-away touchdown and opening to your Higher Self all have in common?
Name-caller gets his butt kicked in the end
Originally Cont’d from Name-calling can get you kicked in the end 1-28-10
Calling a kid names could cause a lasting scar one may have to deal with later in life.
‘Shining Moment’ sends me ‘Soaring High’
Originally Cont’d from Youth recaptured through football hurdle 1-22-10
You had to be a little tough to grow up in Brewerytown, the neighborhood of Philadelphia I called home for the first part of my life. You also needed to be open to other ways of life, different religions, and those of another race.
‘First Love Found’, never lost a Heartbeat
Orginally Cont’d From Love’s First Kiss) 12-2-09
What was it like to be a pre-teen, meeting a person who’d, maybe one day, be the Love of your Life?
Rooster helps open path to miraculous day
The rooster crows outside my kitchen door. Not once, but several times. Wait a minute! It’s 7:30 in the morning. He’s supposed to be up the hill in the shed converted into a chicken coop. What happened?
A Cat & a Rooster Tend to Roam in My Yard
You forgot to lock the trap door, Michael J. Forgot to close it. Or simply forgot to round-up the four feathered critters and herd them into their warm wooden environment. That could mean they spent the night outdoors.
Are you the one from a path not taken?
Originally Cont’d from Part I Mc572 – who are you & how can we talk?
Why are you following me?
Mc572 – who are you & how can we talk?
Who is writing to me? The Name or Tag of “Us.mc572” just doesn’t cut it. Please let me know who you really are. I’ve seen you at my site for weeks, maybe even months. You visit almost every day but have not left a “comment“ or any message to indicate what your interest might be. I have tried, but have been unable to reach you, to determine if you’re a friend or a foe.
Name-calling can get you kicked in the end
Patty DeMarco made me cry. He called me names and wouldn’t stop as I tried to walk away, with him following me on the North Philadelphia street we lived. On and on he went, badmouthing me, until he saw my brother, who helped me into his little red wagon, and pulled it home, me sobbing all the while behind. I was four years old.
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