Hop's Thoughts

A new home. A new schedule. New Faces. New Routines. Old Feelings. Old Habits. No, not really. Last Sunday, the NFL Conference Championships are on in 20 minutes and I sit on my bed, laptop on and a four year, is pointing to the screen. "Put the green one there," she says. I smile, and click the green piece and slide it over the where she asked. Click. She's right. We finish the puzzle and she begins to clap. I smile. She hugs me and tells me she loves me. The little girl is the granddaughter of my new roommates/landlord. It's only the second time I've met her, but she's been here the entire weekend. Sports is the furthest thing from my mind. A few minutes go by and she and her two-year-old brother sit on my bed, drinking milk and eating cookies. Crumbs fall all over and they laugh when I tell them I'll get in trouble with the poppas. Oh yes, my roommates/landlords are a two men, married to each other. Every two weeks, the kids come for a visit. It...

I will not replay my sob story, but I am in a new home. It doesn't feel like my home, because it is not. It is another's home. A couple, who despite this being a new home to them, have allowed me to rent a room. Now let's be clear, the room is not a cell. It is not like the place where I was over a week ago. There is no knock on the door from housekeeping, nor is there a revolving door of neighbors. There are constants. That alone should give me comfort and yet it does not. My insomnia has returned, but I've also slept better than in the past. I am comfortable walking to the kitchen in my underwear, but uncomfortable in my own skin. I feel a weight lifted from my chest, but know it's only been lifted, not removed. My days, oddly, haven't changed, other than the hours in which I do things. I went from being one schedule to another. The only difference is that this one is personal courtesy and at the end of the day, it is my choice. Over the last few weeks, I...

The movies of 2016 Joyeux Noel - A beautiful true story, hurt by over-dramatization. Still works on some levels. A Pigeon Sat On a Branch Reflecting About Its Existence - Dreadful in every way. Cracks - Aside from a lovely to look at cast, the movie fails to deliver, Eva Green though. Monster - Korean crime thriller fails, due to too many undeveloped characters. Making a Murderer - Poorly done, but makes its point. About 8 hours too long. Sicario - Del Toro is the real gem, but Blunt takes nothing and makes magic. Great film! Silenced - Korean film about real life horror at school for the deaf. Well done, but horrifying. Experimenter - Silly biopic about Milgram's obedience testing. Stumbles from start to finish. Pay The Ghost - Nic Cage horror flick. Works, for about an hour, but then unravels horribly. Unfriended - Might actually be worse than The Gallows and Willow Creek. Awful! Slow West - Good, not great, but fine acting make this "foreign" western a fun...

January 13th, 1942 While I would not be born until 1970, this is perhaps the date that had the greatest impact on my life. My mother's birth and the life that followed, its highs and lows, its pleasures and its pains, created the person who taught me more about life than anyone else. Cancer took her from this world in 2004, at the age of 62 and my life was forever impacted. I won't wax poetic, because everyone's mother is special in their own way. Each person views theirs as a cut above and it's understandable. Moms teach us compassion, nurturing and unconditional love. My mother taught me to care for those who are weaker, because they need it more, but never turn my back on the strong ones, because they need it too. From the time I was young, I watched her choose others over herself and until the day she died, she did for others, not always because they needed it, but many times, simply because it gave her joy to see others happy. She was a provider, protector,...

The Last King - Beautiful, but drags at times. Solid performances and great almost mythic tale. A Christmas Horror Story - Wonderful elves can't save Santa in this one. Black Souls - The movie might not resonate, but La Cosa Nostra has nothing on Ndrangheta. Department Q: The Keeper Of Lose Souls - With hints of GWTDT, this one is riveting. Department Q: The Absent One - Doesn't reach part one, but wow, what a follow-up. Department Q: A Conspiracy of Faith - Amazing finale. Left me wanting ten more films/ The Jungle Book - Feels longer than it is, but the laughs and heart string tugs work for adults. Compulsion - Based on Leopold & Loeb, Welles shines, making us question an eye of an eye. Happy - A documentary about being happy. Starts strong, but then becomes a little too preachy. Silent - Best animated movie under three minutes ever. No joke. It's brilliant. The African Queen - Re-watched an old favorite after many years. Bogey and Hepburn!  I Am Not A Ser...