Revere

Rest Easy, Flan

by Bill Brenner May 21, 2020 Life and Death

You can never have too many good friends. Rest easy, Flan.

A Basement in Revere

by Bill Brenner May 13, 2015 The stormy past

A photo from the old days in Revere is sparking some flashbacks. It’s November 1991, and Dan Waters, Sean Marley, and I are in the basement of the old house I grew up in. From left to right: Bill Brenner, Dan Waters, and Sean Marley We partied a lot in that basement. It was the scene of many impressive and entertaining mood swings. I could be mistaken, but I believe we were having a belated Halloween…  [Read More]

Heavy Metal Saved Me

by Bill Brenner February 2, 2015 Coping tools

I am your main man, if you’re looking for trouble. I’ll take no lip, no one’s tougher than me. I kicked your face you’d soon be seeing double. Hey little girl, keep your hands off of me…I’m a rocker. “The Rocker,” by Thin Lizzy A lot of people are amused to learn about my musical tastes. My work space at home and the office is cluttered with political and history-based trinkets, which would leave one…  [Read More]

For Parents With Kids Freaked About Winter Storms

by Bill Brenner January 25, 2015 Children's issues

With a blizzard in the New England forecast this week and next month’s 37th anniversary of the Blizzard of 1978, I thought this might be of use: Mood music: I got a message awhile back from a mom who reads this blog regularly. I’ll keep her anonymous but share some details of the note: “My son, only 7, has suffered from pretty severe anxieties about weather over the past 3 or so years. It took me…  [Read More]

Is the Point of Pines of My Generation Cursed?

by Bill Brenner November 19, 2013 The stormy past

A friend from my old neighborhood opined a couple years ago that our generation of Revere kids lived under a curse. “The more time moves on, I think we may be lucky for just getting out of the city,” he told me in an email. “Revere was just eating people up back then. It’s like we lost a generation.” Mood music: The death tally boggles the mind: Stefanie Santarpio died last week at age 36…  [Read More]

Another Point of Pines Tragedy

by Bill Brenner November 18, 2013 The stormy past

For the second time since October 1, something terrible has happened to people that were part of my childhood orbit. Last month, my old friend TJ committed suicide, hours before his father died of leukemia. This past week, the sister and mother of another childhood friend both died within a couple days of each other: The sister died from complications with pneumonia. and then the mother suffered a fatal aneurysm. Mood music: The latter case is…  [Read More]

The Paul Revere Owl of Rage

by Bill Brenner August 13, 2013 Depression

A friend of mine from Revere found a drawing I did in junior high school. I had totally forgotten about it, but once I had a look yesterday, I remembered what it was about. Mood music: I was asked to draw something that could be used for the Paul Revere School eighth-grade graduation program. I was a misfit back then, a fat, slovenly kid who sucked at sports and verbally fought with just about everyone….  [Read More]

Human Tourniquets And Freaks Who Love Them

by Bill Brenner March 29, 2013 Communication Skills

I originally wrote this three years ago. Looking at it again, it’s an important post describing a time when not even best friends were safe from my insanity. I’ve updated it for the present.  Mood music: [spotify:track:2YGwSRjcY4Hjz6fktW9619] You know the type. They hang  out with people who act more like abusive spouses than friends. They are human tourniquets. They absorb the pain of their tormentor daily and without complaint. This is the story of the…  [Read More]

MomDay Monday – School Daze

by Bill Brenner April 22, 2010 Children's issues

Every school has its issues. Issues with teachers. Issues with other parents. Miscommunication. Problems with other students. Every school. There’s no getting around it. We’re all human. We all have failings. And a school is, after all, made up of us imperfect humans. But at what point does a school have so many issues it becomes dysfunctional? Is it when the faculty talks out of turn to your child about their parents’ divorce? Or perhaps…  [Read More]

Cancer and The Mouth

by Bill Brenner April 16, 2010 Uncategorized

The author has some words for a kid fighting cancer. Mood music for this post: “Heart-shaped Box” by Nirvana: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6P0SitRwy8&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Expect a couple shorter posts today. I have a few things on my mind and don’t need many words to get out what I’m feeling. Here’s the first thing on my mind: During my teenage years, my step-sister hung out with a kid I nicknamed mouth because she had a really loud voice. As annoyed…  [Read More]

← Previous Entries