Mr. Joyce Takes on the World

The Electric Tube Heart Show             "Based on the echo, there seems to be a slight thickening of the heart muscle." My doctor said.              My pulse quickened.             "It looked normal on the EKG, and on the results I'd read." I added.             My doctor's normally buoyant nature was absent, as was the light in her eyes. Instead, her pupils looked black, and her manner was serious. She had commented previously that I was, "Ready for 2016 to be over," and that was true.             Now, she wanted to make sure I didn't suffer a heart attack, just as my mother did two years ago. While it wasn't the cause of her death, her heart condition certainly didn't help.      ...

Nothing But Heart My heart is the strongest organ I have; both literally and physically. Don't get me wrong, I'm a thinker. Come to think of it I think too damn much. I over analyze things sometimes. Or, as I told a friend recently, I will flog a dead horse. I will continue to flog it, even after the horse has been removed, and placed in its grave. I think I do that because when something bothers me, it really bothers me until is resolved. I like a sense of resolution to conflicts and other problems that occur in life. I don't like loose ends or ambiguity. I have to know, and I have to know above all else. But I'm not all brain games. While I enjoy contemplating life, the universe, and everything, I know when to switch from brain to heart mode. As an example I've often said, “Writing is an emotional exercise, not an intellectual one.” The intellect part comes when you're fixing things up to look presentable to readers. If the heart isn't ...