Alan C. Fox's Blog, page 37

He waits …

When I was very young I had many dreams, mostly nightmares.

In one I was chased by the big bad wolf and couldn’t get away. To this day I have no idea what the threat was, which may be why the wolf was so scary. But I did know he wanted to catch me and when he did something awful would happen. Maybe my mother, at my request, told me the story of Little Red Riding Hood too often. I had an active imagination then, and now.

I woke up screaming, night after night. It was my father who alwa...

You bought a ticket to the show

So, I guess, you’ll have to go

Even if, that night or day,

You’d really rather stay away.

In 1975 I traveled to Mexico with my parents and my girl-friend Jill. Near the end of our trip we stayed in a resort hotel owned by the Mexican movie star Cantinflas.

That evening I was sick to my stomach and remained in the room because I couldn’t face dinner. During the night I woke to use the bathroom, but immediately returned to bed.

“What’s the matter?” Jill asked....

Tom had never found the woman of his dreams. Although he cared for a ten year old son from a short term relationship, he had never married. Then Tom met Vanessa. Their relationship progressed beautifully. They enjoyed camping out together, practicing yoga, and he found her to be his best companion ever.

Tom was about to leave on a five day camping trip with friends when his cell phone rang. It was Vanessa, sobbing. Tom could hardly understand what she was saying. Through her spasms of cryin...

What builds in a relationship over years or decades and can be lost in an instant?

A stand-up comedy show in Edinburgh is a strange place for me to receive the best compliment my wife has ever given me. And this was not in private and Daveen was not even talking to me. She was answering a question asked by a comedian, David Morgan (who I certainly recommend), in front of an audience of thirty people, four of them dear friends.

The comedian was making fun of the fact that few of us feel pret...