Craig Tyson Adams

Just when you think you've found a suitable restaurant, antisocial hospitality reveals itself. We went out to a restaurant recently. It’s momentous for us because, usually, it all turns out to be a disappointment. The food is usually lacking. It’s too salty or too dry. It’s overcooked to the point of being burnt or undercooked, to the point of being almost raw.  Sometimes, I like raw food. Sashimi is good. Steak Tartare, although it sounds wrong, is also a treat. But not if I bite into a chicken and it’s pink. That’s just not right. Steak can be pink and be perfect. Not chicken or pork.  The point to all of this is that going out to eat is always a gamble. When it has nothing to do with the food, it’s the presentation. And when I say presentation, I am talking about not only the look of the plate when it’s served, but the people that make up the restaurant staff.  Servers and waitresses have a demanding job. It’s way more difficult than it should be. Working with the pu...

Son, meet baseball . My old friend.  I was thinking back to the favorite sports conversation we had a few days ago, and I thought that spelling out my love for baseball would help you understand more than just telling it. When I was 8 years old, my grandfather called me into the house where he was watching a game. He sat me down and said, ‘I want you to watch this next hitter. His name is Willie Mays. He’s the greatest player I ever saw. I want you to tell your children that you saw him play.’ That was the beginning of my romance with baseball.  Baseball is unlike other sports for my generation because baseball is truly generational. My father took me to my first baseball game, just like his father took him.  I had the pleasure of attending a game with them both, which gave us a commonality, something of a reference that led to bonding unlike anything else. It was a shared experience that we could relate to.  I played baseball with my friends. The game would take pla...

A hospital orderly with a wheelchair arrives with the nurse. “Okay Sarah, we’re ready.”  Mike asked the nurse, “Is it okay if I go in with her?”  The hospital orderly gives the nurse a quick look.  “Getting stitches is a minor procedure that may take a little longer than you think. You mentioned something about food a little while ago and you could go now if you like."  “I will be fine. Have something to eat and I will text you when its over.” Sarah said. Mike leans over and gives Sarah a peck on the forehead.  “Okay. Please text me. I’ll see you when you get back.”  They took Sarah out of the room. Mike walks to the exit and heads out of the hospital.  As he walks through the waiting room, his eye catches a young girl.  She’s around 9 to 10 years old. Her face is white, and she has dark bags under her eyes.   “She looks haunted,” Mike said to himself.  Mike exits the hospital. He looks across the street and sees the 24-hour diner t...

There are a lot of  protesting  protesters these days. It seems that protesting has become the thing to do again. Protesting is more popular today than it has been since the late 1960’s and early 70’s.  On college campuses, the streets outside government buildings and in town halls, large cities and small communities have experienced Americans of all walks of life protesting and demonstrating against issues real, and, at times, imagined. “We’re protesting because we don’t like what is going on!” said one protester who was protesting at a protest. “There are so many injustices that there are almost too many to count!” exclaimed another protester at one other protest. “The only way that someone can get their voice heard is through demonstration, picketing and protesting!” yet another protester proclaimed at yet another protest. There is another side to all the protesting. “We’re here to exercise our right to protest all the protesters who are protesting!” expressed an anti-...

There is a video  of the Beatles circulating that is extraordinary. I haven’t seen anything like it before.  It’s a clip of Paul McCartney from Peter Jackson’s reconstruction of the ill-fated Beatles Get Back project now streaming on Disney+.  In it, McCartney shows up in the morning, along with bandmates George Harrison and Ringo Starr as they complain that John Lennon is late again. “We’ll have to get rid of him." McCartney jabs. It’s a harbinger of things to come as the Beatles broke up later that year. Then something extraordinary happens. It's The Beatles after all. McCartney sits down and starts to noodle around on his bass guitar. Randomly strumming and scatting a melody, and, in mere seconds, a tune starts to take shape.  A caption on the screen says, ‘Feeling pressure of their approaching deadline, Paul searches for new song ideas.’ After a few seconds the now familiar strains of the Beatles song Get Back starts to emerge.  He’s being open to motivation...

Of course, just when you think this society we have here in the United States couldn’t get any weirder, along comes a group that gathered in Dallas waiting for JFK Jr.. They’re followers of QAnon. A once upon a time fringe group that is no longer fringe. Some of it’s adherents almost seem downright lucid, except when they profess what they believe.  Now, don’t get me wrong. We’ve had our share of many well meaning weirdos before. Flat Earthers, Mayan calendar end of days believers, Y2K devotees, Apollo 11 moon landing deniers, Mormons and so on.  But, among QAnon beliefs, of which there are many , is the John F. Kennedy Jr. is going to emerge and proclaim that Donald Trump is still the President of the United States, and that he, JFK Jr., is now the Vice President. Together, QAnon supporters believe Trump and Kennedy Jr. will clean up the degenerates in Washington D.C. that stole the 2020 presidential election, amongst other charges .  They’ve been camped out in Dallas s...

Every ballplayer hears the same thing from coaches throughout the beginning of the player’s career. If you respect the game, the game will pay you back. A small fraction of players makes the majors straight out of the draft. Most make the big show after refining their skills for a few seasons in the minor leagues. A few bounce back and forth between the majors and minors before eventually sticking and finding their place. Then there are the players that have enough talent to keep around, but not quite enough to make the jump to the majors. They’re the depth guys. They are uniquely talented in rare skills, but lacking in areas that would permit them to move forward. They’re like singers that have the chops but sound like someone famous. Like, a talented painter whose works have the same attributes as a master but not the full complement.  They possess an uncommon skill but are common as a player. The player can hit, but can’t field or run. He can field like a vacuum cleaner, but can...