wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

I wish to remain anonymous. Really?

"Well, I didn't see that coming."
42-year-old cancer survivor

Man makes bed, Sleeps in it..

This is better than a haiku.

Bad sex is still good sex

Betrayed by body, saved by spirit.

Like then, still the laziest person.

Arboreal primate, civilized; not yet urbane.

adopted, New Yorker, loves the Yankees

My seven year old daughter says:

always remember one thing: share thoughts

attempting flight without cape, but net

a.
outside the box. out and proud.
b.
once beautiful, brilliant. shy gone outrageous.
c.
travelled around. screwed around. been around.
d.
well bred. well read. well bedded.
e.
New Yorker. ex-pat in the Mid-East.
f.
leftist.living.loving.looking.listening.learning.

naive experiences decisions
pacifism accepts death

"Act out of love more often"

When I think and act out of love, clarity comes. I've often been harshly critical of myself, but when my actions come from love, I know I'm doing my best. When I'm more accepting and compassionate toward others, I cut myself a break,too. Repeating these six words gives me a better perspective, and thus more peace, in my piece of the world.

Learned from mistakes. Keep making them.

As grandpa said, could've been worse.

Hasn't turned out as I expected.

With a little more thought....

To MY BPD Mom:

Sorry...but you can't kill me.

Fastest first grader. Fat old lady.

I tried to make it good.

To my BPD mom: I'm sorry, I can't let you kill me.

Happily married to my prom date

Six when Mom died: My destiny

Unbeliever of reincarnation first time here

Make believe,
truly etter than reality.

ONWARD AND UPWARD!

Prone to class resentment and despair.

not enough sex, too much sex...

Alien craving knowledge, guided by faith.

love early widow search late love

1)Lost, then loved by Joel.
2) Wasn't here, was, then won't be.

I never finish things because I

teeth, words, sex, sex, words, teeth

One Ring to rule them all.

Moved alot--grownup trouble with connections.

Never much money.. very rich life

"I Needn't Have Bothered At All."

This one was written by a friend:

The people I love love me.

Trying to work, but constantly distracted.

Somewhat undecided, open to suggestions.

Round, round. up, down. my life.

After doing some serious thinking, I...

Fox News inspired flight from homeland.

BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE

Went to beach. Stayed to write.

A confluence of desperation and grace

Husband, two sons; seat always up.

"Impressing others has left me empty."

and..

"Recently learned I can do anything."

Had many dreams. Some came true.

been there. done that. i'm 82.

Life sucked. Then it got better.

Brooklyn-made yet ran far. Happily restored.

Release hurt; room to glow transformed.

I mentioned this to my mom in RI, and my family really got into it!

my mom's:

Mistakes, disappointments,failure. SURPRISE! Peace, contentment.

my mom's husband's:

Superficial goofiness. Still waters run deep.

my eight year old nephew's:

comical, annoying, happy, fascinating, difficult, boring

my sister's:

a story of connection and disconnection

education
travel
marriage
children
fame
fortune

Struggling for validation of my path.

The weather *is* better up here.

Born wrong-side up--endearingly incongruent thereafter.

"Funny!" he said, "for a girl."

predictably contumacious.
cliched attempts at nonconformity.

Never been married. Never been divorced.

Always just getting hang of it.

A man
A woman
Paris
Oohlala

Pie or pi? I choose sustenance.

Out into color; return into darkness.

Here are a few spoofs!

1) I can't count to six.

2) Bad at math. Is this six words?

3) Are ultra-hyphenated multi-words allowed inthis contest?

Mostly doodling, occasional mot,
wide margins.

Wife? Mother? Artist with few regrets.

or

solitary, sociable, theatrical, ethical, creative, compassionate

or

alone, coupled, independent, committed, interdependent, inspired

Still trying to “get a life”

Ever-smaller apartments in better neighborhoods.

I used to be way cooler.

Sixteen days. Endless conversation. In Love.

Came East, pursuing dreams. Now survive.

Travel The World. Stop to work.

Ralphy drinks in Valhalla for eternity

Rock on my beloved brother Peace

Put it all down to fate.

So much ado about nothing again

El Bell and me makes three

thats my family

Public education, family, vision, optimistic future

from Thunder Road to driving carpools

Seven thousand miles and still running.

Greek Romantic who sought to find.

Born screaming, have not stopped yet.

Does it disqualify me if I have more? No matter, I can't resist. To wit:

My kids make me laugh daily

and finally, my life in sandwiches:

PB&J, Bologna, heros, grilled cheese, wraps

Thank you for your kind indulgence...
(Stopping now)

All love stories end in tragedy

I was born screaming...still screaming!

I've got what you'd call... problems.

Finally found fame with NPR memoir.

In the end, only love counts.

Saddest words: "It might have been."

Here are two of those that came to me:

hiding publicly
stealthy authenticity
groping emergence

jersey jerusalem sixties
still seeking now

Terrible housekeeper, good mom. Very happy.

How did I get here? Why?

You're not the contents ofyour wallet.

Small gestures can change the world

Port, current, riptide, waves, Doldrums, anchor

Always learning, always loving, always living.

I got more than I deserved.

Gay boy. So what? Everyone's gone.

Sexcellicious babe in a vanilla body.

Often confusing, sometimes gratifying - always interesting.

Second entry:

Married mathematician.
Pythagoras. Gauss. Fibonacci.
Yikes!

pain
complain
disdain
wane
feign
remain

or

my schism creating duality overwhelms both

Started reading at 5. What joy!

So far, so good. So, nu?

menses--men--mendacity--menopause--mentor--mend

Bad marriage first. Good marriage next.

i am finally becoming myself at seventy eight.

Two Daughters, four grandsons, lucky me!

Lived it up. Long way down.

unfulfillment seeking nirvana...not even close

Getting it (finally) at thirty-nine.

Barcelona, Santiago, Montevideo, New York. Nomad

Teaching fifteen years. Here, there, nowhere?

1. Not what I was expecting, so far.

2. Shy girl, zany father, complications ensued.

3. Wanting to be cool, I stumbled.

Married. Wife lesbian. No ménage. Damn.

my life
icecream cake
half finished

Born on Day of the Dead.

Robbed at gunpoint.
Life's a gift.

Dreams achieved;

Dreams deferred;

Still dreaming.

Ecstatic Juggler: Mommy, Wife, Administrator, Artist

Savor wondrous world through toddler's perspective

This is the day of all days

Mommy, now, I understand. Thank you.

Wears magenta amidst Aesthetics classmates' neutrals.

Catholic upgringing. In recovery ever since.

"Today's the day, so is tomorrow".

melancholy, tangled funk
arabica, peet's, robust

true love found
in
grammar class

Unemployed post-doc joins French circus, marries.

Reincarnation? No thanks. Once is ENOUGH!

Life's full with room for more.

Please give me lots of validation.

Will I be tested on this?

Wanted: boyfriend as amazing as friends

Hope Heaven's worth all Man's suffering.

learning, earning, yearning, mourning, celebrating, sleeping

Put your own mask on first.

I rubbed it with special sauce.

Empty nest! . . . . Now, where was I?

Baker's son. Read Kerouac. Dream deferred?

Always aware how lucky I am.

Not just about pleasing others anymore.

Good stories in those smile lines

I'D LIKE TO GO AROUND AGAIN!!

The Beatles, guitar, teacher, married, StatenIslander

Leave roots. Find life, love, daughters.

I thought the gun wasn't loaded.

Sick of this crap. Nap time.

Lower East Side,
Brooklyn
Europe
Upper East Side

Loved appearing on Leonard Lopate Show!

loved by wife!
adored,granddaughter! supercalafragalisticexbealidocious?

(does spelling count?)

Only child. Two brothers, one sister.

Rising. Falling. Cancer. Dementia. Grief. Rebirth.

Nowhere as smart as I thought.

Wife. Three Kids. I'm them now.

Born, Black,Judged,Overcame,Succeeded,Blessed

Sons I will have to support. Forever.

Graduating in May. Back to bartending?

Married once; married twice; widowed early.

Wife wrote bestseller. I'm her webmaster.
http://xchar.home.att.net/tna/

Constant change, until New York City!

Life is an accumulation of perspectives.

Thrilled just to have been nominated.

In Kenya digging when Grandma died.

Always afraid to fail. Done nothing.

Climbed Mount Everest, also compulsive liar.

Looked for love, found it, relaxed.

Ate, slept, laughed, loved. Well. Often.

Can't taste the vodka in this.

Love bourbon and reading. Life intrudes.

Smiling steels me against the hurt.

money going homes going future bleak?

Faith Hope Charity says it all

born - mistake, lived - sad. death, Please!

Optimistic loving cynic navigating heartfelt challenges!

Running, but I can't catch up.

first LOVE not BOY, but ART.

I'd say this absolutely defines my life. Hope it translates. Great job to everyone else.

I should have listened to myself.

joy, home, husband, children, grandchildren, peace!

"Act out of love more often"

smiles hugs kisses lovers together forever

win contest write book joyous endings

I NEVER SHOULD HAVE UNTIED HER!

me you us them we oui

Fourth choice to Prom. Still overcompensating.

awaiting the outcome of my dreams

bang head against wall... enlightened bruised

Country,
Mourning,
City,
Love,
Children:
Happiness

Struggle: Exciting deviation or comfortable routine?

Struggle: Appealing change or comfortable routine?

Smile, Laugh, Live Life Longer

Living in existential vacuum; it sucks.

Blue Sky...Perfect Wind...Set Sail!

just no good at these things.

You must change your life. Rinse. Repeat.

I can't remember the satanic abuse.

king kongs baby living in NYC

Kongs baby I survived in NYC

Becoming
Being
Bragging
Bungling
Bombing
Braving
Bequeathing

Detroit Tiger bat boy. Then downhill.

New Yorker in exile, will return.

wife, mom, MD, time for me?

it was quiet, then i screamed.

Born, flourished, suffered thirty years, flourished.

He played the cards he got.

In Baltimore. Miss NY. Yay, Lenny.

A problem turning into a solution

This is where I came in.

Two pants suit, hole in coat.

My mother was right after all

My wife is my whole life.

dance

teach

eat
love
rest

repeat

In only two words: He tried!

Times and things change, have I?

Students, horses, cats, husband; all loved

Oh gosh, where do I start?

Urban youth's struggle to chemistry doctorate.

My Baptist wife made me Jewish.

A 6-word memoir:

Kindred Spirits.
Separate Bedrooms.
Divorce Lawyers.

Empty nest...we are naughty again!

barefoot, sneakers, high heels, hiking boots...

Inspiration. Aspiration.
But no financial remuneration.

beginninglessly beginning

silent blissful

endlessly ending

Too young, not yet, too old.

Grandchildren
African-American
Jewish-American
Dominican-American
Irish-Italian-American
Next?

Re-did my To-Do list? Check!

I always want to be outside

I always came up short.

failed artist, insurance now, long story!

"Malformative Years"
Surviving Blighted
Brownsville Brooklyn

Engineer to Artist.
California to NYC.

Struggling actress talking,
Stroke,
Re-learned walking.

My American journey: existence in pursuit.

Too much, too soon, too long.

Reason. Faith. I'm okay with both.

I go toward what feels good.

Sorry, correction:
I hope Leonard Lopate never retires
Need him greatly in my decline

survival, happy marriage, divorce, peace, decline

also:
I hope Leonard Lopate never retires.

(I need him more than ever in my decline.)

I, you, we together in deep.

Woken by love, became a man.

Work, work, work, eat, play, sleep.

Another short aphorism about trivial existence.

Live too long - time to regret.

Life in six words? Excess.

... finally...

Big loser: I never get picked.

Dad died. Mom lied. I cried.

Noted precipice, fell anyway. Not sorry.

Gerald, Greta, John, Martha, Lesley, Lynne.

(My six children, in alphabetical order.)

Survived Genocide
Discovered Cartooning
What's Next?

walked in backwards - leaving same way

Living life in shades of gray

I. nam myo ho renge kyo.

Loved the Mass. Loved the Rosary.

Dream, make it happen then dream.

So much promise. No ambition. Married.

Please, give me one more opportunity.

The Teacher can come from anywhere.

Choose one: change or be changed.

Chauffeur emerging as scripting soul man.

My Life in six words:

Peace, joy, exuberant, gregarious, enduring struggles.

1. Thank you for the music, love

2 Often wrong but never in doubt.

3. I am filling my last cavity!

I do not like other people.

With luck, effort and love ...happiness.

Doesn't trying count? Didn't have to.

I am grateful again and again

love it # 84!

he is one million liquid tons

Not running, but skipping, in circles.

Lots of cats. Lots of men.

1. Devoured life offerings akin a blackwhole.

Born, bedded, lied, reborn, rebedded, died

Here is my six word memoir:

High strung to start, self-involved evermore.

1) I'll save it for my epitaph.
2) Sucked in life akin a blackhole.

Mid-winter
Evening
Born
Lived
The
Night

Grew up wrong. Got it right.

Kosher Kid on a Musical Mission.

Nixon childhood, Reagan teenager, hope finally.

Traveling bard of mind and stomach

Could have been; could still be...

Map long misplaced; anyway, no roads.

('love #11!)

I overcame the temptation to suburbanize.

innocence, murder, agony, anguish, anger, survival

Under thirty sucked
Things got better

Death is only the beginning, booya

Making pretty stationery for beautiful souls

would of/ should of/ could of

Always on topic, civil, and brief.

It's hard
There's hope
What's next?

Smiling steels me against the hurt.

Sorry, your eggs are too old.

I'm happy, with less and less.

1) Jazz Artist Day Job Coffee Necessary

2) Quality not Quantity that's the Ticket

3) Kittens, Eames Chair isn't Scratching Post

4) Root Third Flatted Seventh Raised Eleventh

5) Roast Chicken Fried Plantains Start Diet

Dream, live it one more time.

I am, therefore it's me thinking

Oops... that's 7 (I was never good at math!)
So, here's my corrected entry:
I want to know I mattered.

Entry number 2:
I was never good at math.

I Often Run Out Of Words.

I, nam myo ho renge kyo.

Hoping for better luck with timing

I haven't decided what to do.

sought the road, missed the turn.

In search of my lost accent.

So far I've only died once.

unmatched, sox, macaroni, drama, and, cheese

Bad anger destroys. Good anger transforms.

Attended art school in Brooklyn, stayed.

Or

Sometimes six words are too many.

Lived Life. Became Dad. Things Changed.

My whole life has been wrong.

Wake. Cry Why Fly. Never enough.

I came. I saw. I laughed. I loved.

creativity energy happiness exhilaration satisfaction peace

I wrote it all down. Look:

I survived. Now live with joy.

Some things done, still making progress.

confused about how much to worry

Many mistakes; hope to outlive them.

I tried my level best dammit!

From singlewide to east seventy ninth

1. Grandpap French decimal batik birthing comics.

2. Free will means: making agonizing choices.

Baby girl. Seven pounds, twelve ounces.

Life-changing novel won't write itself.

They call me sidestreet Sandi shopper

Screamed, spoke, wrote, worked, played music.

Wive and kids = love and joy

Brooklyn boy finds softball in Jersey

creative
humorous
wife
mother,
mother-in-law
nana

I found my mother's suicide note.

Someone build a statue of me.

GOAL: Ballplayer

CURRENT STATUS: Unemployed shortstop

EARLY START
EASY RIDE
TOUGH CLOSE

wish i could get it right

Always trying to do something else...

Innocence, Art, Hands, Fire, Knives, Wisdom

I don't know where to enter the contest so I'll do it here.

He got it done.

Brainy blond; dichotomies define my existence.

well i was thinking of words but none of them sense and there were way more then six... so these six words:

Too. Complex. For. Only. Six. Words.

Madison, Seattle, Brooklyn, Blue Cities All

Activist, father, smokejumper, deadhead, balkan volunteer.............

A flower bloomed; then it died.

Puella aeterna becoming a wise elder.

My 6 word bio....

"Drunk miserable sober happy joyous free."

Tall boys at Tiffany's

Learn and teach others until death.

Innocence
Turmoil
Independence
Dependence
Responsibility
Acceptance

i was sleepwalking through life until.

Leonard Lopate. Brian Lehrer. Ira Glass.

spit
dash

polish
poise

dirt
dust

Enter left. Move center. Exit right

My whole life has been wrong.

Raised in Los Angeles, don't surf.

Inamorata
Munificent
Panache
Bonhomie
Kismet
Redivivus

Highest of highs, lowest of lows.

Overworked mother and wife enjoying life.

Yay for #45!

Wives
Daughters
Mothers
Sisters
Fathers
Brothers

Having abiliy and opportunity, a coward.

I usually did it my way.

or

I strolled the road less traveled.

Childhood difficult, finance traumatic, law suicidal.

Found love. Left at the altar.

facebook has ruined my entire life.

Correction:

I frolicked, faded, failed, and flourish.

(If you're wondering why I can't count to six, it's because I haven't slept much lately. Woops.)

There are going to be complaints.

Not where I though I'd be

Naively Scared...
Stubbornly Confident...
Mischievously Dancing

city girl living in surburban hell

It was awkward at first.

Courageous survivor not defined by cancer

I am well, Thanks for asking.

A consequence of a misspent youth

Anxious heart, but love brings stillness.

Could I use one fewer?

Three entries:

1. He fell into every worthwhile decision.

(five words!)
2. Repeated enchantment with the world

3. Same coin, different sides, same material.

Nate.

birth...mirth...worth...girth...dearth...earth

Is this it? This is it.

Surely luck can't explain it all.

Illegitimate Child. Resident Alien. Nonpartisan Spirit.

it is never not a miracle.

I regret taking Shari for granted.

Post-modernism has screwed my life royally.

Being the sound, being the silence.

Idea, Concept, Sketch, Produce, Analyze, Finalize.

How's two groups of six?

So many hobbies, so little time.

Loves change, loves staying the same.

wolves, drugs, California, school, love, work.

1. catholicism;
2. drugs;
3. corporate;
4. unemployment;
5. trauma;
6. fullfullment.

Arrived early. Hope to leave late.

Happily, I lived before I died.

I'm trying. Can't you see that?

So what if i like girls

found Dog. what else is there?

I voted for Obama. We'll see.

PS: I vote for Jennifer from NYC (#3).

pablum
bubblegum
vodka
ambien
tacrine
repeat?

anxiety self-realization be here now

I live, love, and marvel anew.

"Hippie Van, Government Man, Retirement Fan"

I haven't figured it out yet

Unemployed publicist: Will flack for food.

"Untimely ripped", sublime existence, ignominious end.

Six words? Really more than all but a very few lives should need.

Such is the human condition.

Dan