Are You Kidding Me?

I was in a Lyft ride on my way to the City Winery in Chicago last Tuesday to see Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. We were about five seconds away, and the driver decides to make an abrupt left turn in front of a bus going the opposite direction. I yelled out "Holy shit!" and the Lyft driver apologized, half-heartedly, and then said "Well, you wouldn't have been hurt, you're sitting on the driver's side," and my only sarcastic, freaked-out response besides me wanting to say "Fuck you!" was "Please don't kill me before I see Micky Dolenz!". The driver, probably unaware of who I was talking about, just bursted into laughter, as well as the poor guy in the passenger seat, who had just seen his life flash before his eyes. Already a ball of nerves to begin with, I walked into City Winery and went immediately to the bar. Shaken from the incident and waiting for my friend who was driving in from the suburbs, I ordered a vodka soda, after...

I spent some time with good friends and family this past weekend, and we started talking about the recent passing of Chris Cornell. I didn't realize how much this beautiful man touched each of us in different ways, being he was an idol that was looked up to for many years, or someone who's musical impact affected us on a deeper level. My brother was a huge Soundgarden and Audioslave fan, and when I heard of Chris' passing, I texted my brother right away. He sent me a text later that day that just said "I'm devastated." I was sad for him, because I knew his death impacted him in an emotional way, as it does when you hear of a person you were once friend's with who dies young. It's like a piece of your childhood has died. When we lived in the burbs for the first time in the mid 90s, and we had to take the same school bus (I was in high school and my brother in middle school) I remember being annoyed in the mornings because my brother, Steven, and...