House Money is a gambling term that refers to accumulated winnings which allow you to play for free unless the surplus runs out. If you are wise, you’ll just quit while you’re ahead and take a profit. As a longtime poker player, I’ve applied that wisdom many times during my storied career. I’ve also been guilty of staying at the table too long and blowing back those hard-earned winnings. The metaphorical implications of this scenario provide low-hanging fruit for commentary on a wide range of topics, both humorous and profound.
Dust in the Wind
“Now those memories come back to haunt me, they haunt me like a curse. Is a dream a lie that don’t come true, or is it something worse?” That dark question posed by Bruce Springsteen is one of my favorite lyrics, and I don’t even know what it means. What I do know is that…
Keep readingPhysical Labor
Excerpt from one of my favorite essays: So time marches on and one thing leads to another. With a useless degree in philosophy tucked away for safe keeping, the trenches of manual labor were calling to me. The bottom of the food chain seemed like a reasonable starting point and that meant only one thing—mason’s…
Keep readingFavorite Movies
I periodically like to revise my favorite movies list. It is always subject to change, and I welcome your comments about your own favorite movies too. The Godfather The Godfather Part Two JFK Goodfellas The Big Lebowski Heat Burn After Reading Barry Lyndon The Verdict The French Connection Wall Street On the Waterfront Bridge Over…
Keep readingTime Waits for No One
Opening excerpt from my first published essay: Lately it seems that every conversation involving people my age revolves around our fear of getting old. We can’t make a move without some reminder of how quickly time is passing and how little we can do about it. In our desperation to hang on to a distant…
Keep readingLast of the Levinsohns
As I have thought about playing with “house money,” it hasn’t been lost on me that we never know when that surplus will run out. There has been a lack of longevity in the previous generations on my father’s side of the family. My great-grandfather died at 66, my grandfather at 47, and my father,…
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CHARLES LEVINSOHN 