Rand Bishop's Blog
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Sep.18.2011
A NEARLY TRAGIC STORY WITHOUT AN ENDING...
5:30 A.M. September 14, 2011. My 19-year-old daughter, Glendyn, stood alone in the dark, terrified and frantic, on the edge of a cold, slick interstate highway. The swirling wind blew frigid, early-morning drizzle against her quivering lips, as she gazed,...
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Jul.28.2011
An open letter to congress from an irate citizen...
To continue making our ballooning national debt a partisan issue is not only abdicating your fundamental responsibility to the citizens of this nation, but a foolhardy and cavalier insult to the world at large. Get busy, get your heads together,...
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Jul.06.2011
After Vancouver lost on their home ice to Boston in the Stanley Cup Finals, rabid Canuck fans took to the streets, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. These fanatics probably thought of themselves as “super patriots,” loyal to the local hockey franchise. In fact, they were nothing more...
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Feb.07.2011
Sometimes it takes awhile even for an old, battle-worn, show-biz hound like me to see the light. Having authored four published books over the last seven years, three of which are still in print and selling, I might have paid a little more attention to my own advice. Two of my books...
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Jan.11.2011
Dear You:
You are a uniquely gifted human being. Only you possess the matchless skill set provided you by The Creator. Only you can manifest your individual point of view into reality. And, as you have been blessed with a one-of-a-kind set of tools, you have the obligation to develop your talents...
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Jan.03.2011
She seemed light as a feather. Tiny, in fact. I’d never thought of her as tiny. But, here on the curb of Nashville International Airport, as I embraced her and whispered, “I love you,” my wife was much smaller than I remembered. In the last four months, we hadn’t shared many hugs. Tears, by the...
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Nov.27.2010
On Thanksgiving morning, a letter to the editor published in The Tennessean really curdled my cheese. The author of the irksome missive purported that unemployment rates are so high in this country because too many folks are simply too proud to be greeters at Walmart. He went on to accuse those who...
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Nov.08.2010
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An Open Plea to President Obama from a member of the Democratic Base: Please Do Not Seek Re-...
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Aug.30.2010
When I awoke early that splendid Friday morning in the beautiful bedroom community of Oak Park, Illinois, I was only momentarily surprised to find the other side of the bed vacant. Even in my half-conscious state, I knew where Stacey was: cuddled in the downstairs guest bedroom with Glenny. This...
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Aug.05.2010
For several decades now, a random, errant thought occasionally passed through my constantly curious, often cacophonous cranium. Now, thanks to Peter Cooper’s superb cover obit (The Tennessean 8/4/2010), this periodic puzzler has at long last been solved. My pondering always came in the shape of...
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Jul.29.2010
The cement sidewalk is cracked. Weeds and dandelions protrude from between the oddly shaped mosaic of uneven, busted concrete, as if a recalcitrant giant-boy broke a massive Ten Commandments tablet to bits and placed the pieces in a trail along the overgrown crab grass of Multnomah Street. The...
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Jul.24.2010
I was inspired by a brief article entitled The Function of Failure by Dr. Cheryl Lentz (RefractiveThinker.com). Dr. Cheryl's basic premise in this wise and succinct piece is "fail faster to succeed sooner." Her allegory stars an imaginary plumber by the name of Peter. We are aghast that...
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Jul.11.2010
“It sounds to me like you’re a little bit lonely,” my therapist observed. Her spot-on diagnosis carried with it an undeniable sting. Ouch. Much of my day-today experience is a very isolated one. I am always alone in my thoughts; and yet again, I’m not. As I type these words, or drive my car, or...
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Jul.01.2010
My daughter’s Facebook profile said it all: “One of the worst nights of my life.” Her FB friends’ comments in response were sincere, sympathetic, but mundane: “So sorry, Glenny,” “Call me next time,” etc. As her dad, the thing that panged my scarred old heart the most was not so much...
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Jun.09.2010
Eleven years ago, I was months away from gagging down a jagged pill, on which was imprinted a very frightening number: 50. I was distraught. Only recently I had suffered a soul-jarring shock when, for the first time, I was informed that I was, at 49, actually older than the parents of one of my...
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About Rand
I'm a writer, pure and simple -- of songs, of books, screen and stage plays, essays, stories, letters to the editor, you name it. Each and every day, I am compelled to toy with the Mother Tongue untill I've found the words to construct something that wasn't...
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Rand’s Favorite Books
Prince of Tides, The Brothers K, Long Way Down, The World According To Garp, Cider House Rules, Tunesmith, Beach Music, Which Lie Did I Tell, Seabiscuit,...