money, but to grow as a community... to become, dare I say it, a NEIGHBORHOOD.
Benjamin W. Bass
Thursday, March 3, 2022
Henry Street!
money, but to grow as a community... to become, dare I say it, a NEIGHBORHOOD.
Friday, December 10, 2021
'Twas the night for spatchcocking!
'Twas the night for spatchcocking!
|
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Starting Over
Tonight, standing in my garage, I looked at the wall covered in photos and memorabilia from my life... and while these things bring me joy to look at, to remember the times and places I'd been, they're holding me back... They're preventing growth. They are a tomb in which I've housed my creativity, never to be used again. They've become an altar to my past in which I pray my previous works and deeds will be enough to get me through life... and that's not how it works.
It is time to move forward.
I need to remember why and how I accomplished all of these things and do them again. I don't want to wear these images and tokens from my past like a moth-worn letterman jacket. I want them to be streamers attached to the guidon of my life... And I want to add more with each passing day.
2020 and 2021 have been a real eye-opener for me. I became an award-winning author. I found a great job. I like what I do. I get compensated very well for my time and efforts... And that leaves me with the ability to let go of the past and move forward. It gives me a freedom to break the shackles of looking backward and set my sights on the future...
I am going to create more.
I am going to draw, and take photos.
I am going to write another book - Sexy vampires in Space! Volume ONE! ... wait, that's been done I think... Or maybe I'm just thinking of Twitter?
... where was I? Oh, right ...
I'm going to make it my goal in life to help other people do what they want to do! What's your dream? What are you going to do in 2022? Stop looking back and saying, "That was the best I'll be." and, instead, say, "That was just the beginning."
I took down my wall of stuff... my altar to the younger me. I cleared out the whole area. I moved shelves, threw things in the trash, ripped old photos down, and I've made space for the next chapter in my life. In OUR lives actually... mine and A.J.'s.
There are big things in the works here, kids—Big, awesome, wonderful, strange, and terrifying things!
And it's going to be fucking awesome.
Sunday, November 7, 2021
As a Thank You for Veterans Day
This week, we take time to honor our Veterans. We say thank you for all that they've done and all that the continue to endure after they've come home.
It's not always easy to come home from the war and return to a "normal life" in the civilian world - and this is something I have tried very hard to portray in Alone In The Light. I have taken great pains to show the physical, mental, and emotional trauma that plagues many of our veterans after they come home.
I wanted to share these experiences with the world. Both veterans and civilians alike - to help understand that when we say "We're fine" that we're not always fine. We like to put on a brave face, keep moving, and soldier on... but it's not always easy.
And so, for the next 5 days - I am giving this book away. As a thank you to my fellow veterans in an effort to maybe help them see they're not alone and as a way for their friends and family to possibly see what's going on inside.
From Monday, November 8th, until midnight on Friday, November 12th - I will be lowering the prices of my paperback and hardcover to the lowest amount allowed by amazon:
$8.22 for the paperback. (Normally $16.99)
$16.00 for the hardcover. (Normally $22.00)
In addition: The eBook will be 100% free Monday, November 8th, until midnight on Friday, November 12th this is free to EVERYONE with the Kindle App.
This means I get $0.00 for these sales.
I don't care about the money. I care about helping to spread understanding to our friends and families.
Please help me say Thank You by spreading this news and telling your friends and family members who want to know what it can be like for those of us facing our demons - within and without.
Lastly - I ask you all to check out these organizations for yourself, your fellow veterans, or your veteran family members:
The Gary Sinise Foundation - The Gary Sinise Foundation serves our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. We do this by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.
Thursday, September 9, 2021
"The story is there, I just need to tell it."
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Giving Thanks; An Abridged List Of The Good Stuff In Life
![]() |
I'm thankful for my family.
I'm thankful for my health. To date, I do not have COVID19 or something worse.
I am thankful for opportunities that are still around.
Monday, April 13, 2020
Living Behind The Wire
I'll be damned if that didn't hit home really hard.
This whole "Quarantine" thing is very much like being deployed. And that has its good moments and bad moments.... and a WHOLE lot of downtime and boredom.
Let me give you the quick and dirty -
90% of life on deployment is spent sitting on your cot/bunk being bored out of your mind, unable to go anywhere or do anything. You are stuck with the same people day in and day out. You desperately await the arrival of new mail so you can, hopefully, read something new or get a new snack. You can do PT (work out), you can eat, you can read and re-read the same book and magazine, and you can walk circles around your living area... It's boring.
Yep... It is boring, and, strangely, quite normal on the outside. You do your job, you go on with the day to day shit - but you're confined to one small plot of land for a VERY long time. It's seemingly safe and secure, but you know that outside the wire is potential trouble and death. But despite that fear, you're inside the wire, and you try to live normally... knowing very well that this is not normal.
You call your parents and loved ones, you chat with them on the phone - but you can never hug them or have dinner with them. You can order things to do from the internet, but it takes time to get to you. Your normal routine is gone... and now you're just trying to make the best of your 2 square miles of land and the same 9 people you spend every waking minute with. Privacy is basically gone. Alone time is relegated to the bathroom visits.
This is what we're experiencing right now... stuck at home, trying to be normal while NOT being normal. Welcome to life on deployment, folks!
I'd like to say it gets better, but that's only partially true - you get numb to it. Which is the best you're going to get. You find ways to cope with never having a true moment of privacy. You find ways to make a routine of this new life... And, eventually, you'll forget about the stress of what's outside the wire... And this is where being deployed is actually easier... When the only source of news is AFN during mealtime, you aren't under a constant assault of social media posts and news stories that fill you with anxiety and dread... you just sort of get 10 minutes of news when you're eating... then have an ice cream on your way out of the DFAC, and forget about it as you go back to living your quarantined lifestyle.
This is where we are folks... unsure of when our deployment will end, stuck with the same people and the same locations for an unknown amount of time, and trying to make the best of it and not think too much about what's happening outside the wire...
And it sucks.
So, how do we deal with this?
Some people take to it with ease and love it. Some people lose their shit and end up trying to go AWOL. Some people end up with PTSD from the sheer life altering change in "the norm." It's true...
The best advice I can give you is try to find a routine. Try to find a schedule at home. Try to not dwell on all the ifs, buts, and stress of life "outside the wire." It's different for everyone... And no one answer will fit.
For me? I'm working on stopping smoking. I'm reading books. I'm eventually going to try to write something... On the day-to-day, I wake up every day by 8. I make breakfast for the family. We do homework, play games, eat lunch at 12:00... we have snacks at 3:00... we have the kids help cook their meals. We call the grandparents. We try to have a routine. We do NOT watch the news very much. We do NOT spend all of our time Doom-Surfing the internet. We do NOT try to sneak out and go do things we're not supposed to do...
And it sucks.
Look, I'll be honest - I've lived through deployments before and they all have one thing in common - they'll eventually end. We just have to ride this out for a while. When it's over, we'll all have to go through a new adjustment period - just like we're doing right now.
Keep your shit together, folks. Take turns being the strong partner/friend. We all have shoulders to lean on... and we're probably all going to need one at some point.