Jeff Cutler™ – columns, essays and opinions

Is there anything that qualifies as a slight irony?

In my mind, things are either ironic or they’re not. And things that are coincidences are not ironic. But I won’t rant about that distinction because Alanis Morrisette has already ruined the brains of a whole generation of people who may never realize the difference.

If Alanis wer an English teacher, THAT would be ironic.

The slight irony that I allude to is my current health situation. As most of you know, I have Crohn’s Disease and was diagnosed with this illness in the 1970s. Yes, I was a mere child when I was diagnosed.

Each year I try to do my part to help the doctors and scientists cure this disease by contributing my time and paltry design skill to a golf tournament. The Grampy’s Charity Open is in its 24th year and for 2008 we’re trying to raise more than ever before.

To give you some perspective, in 2007 we gave about $80,000 to a number of charities including CCFA.

Here’s the irony. Each year as I’m getting more stressed about auction-book deadlines and machinations over compiling the video slideshow and managing the Websites, I start to experience some Crohn’s symptoms.

The way I could alleviate the symptoms would be to break the pattern and do the work earlier, but like the disease, the tournament isn’t really in my control. Ads come in at the last minute as do donations and changes to the materials we need to have on hand.

By no means is this column a complaint. It’s more of a reminder that all of us are constantly barraged by things we can’t control. And similar to the people who might drink booze with a bad liver, smoke with a bad lung, or have kids even thought they’ve got no common sense – this work is something I choose to do even thought it affects me in a not-so-healthy way.

And it affects me in a very healthy way because it could provide people like me with a cure…someday.

And isn’t that what life is supposed to be all about – balance?

Just sharing a little bit about myself today. Hope it wasn’t too tough to bear.

If you’re interested in giving to the tournament or CCFA, do so. Here are two links…have at it.

CCFA.org and Grampys.org.

Thanks in advance, from the middle of my gut. Seriously and ironically.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Not exactly go-off-the-deep-end type of insanity, but it’s been mega busy around here.

Finally have wrapped up a bunch of projects (some work for the Boston Globe, the auction booklet for Grampy’s, started recording my questions for Randy Cohen, *this is a past link, I’ll link to my readings when they appear* and am working on the movie for the golf tournament), and still have a lot to do.

But I’m getting there and I’m finding that the more projects I have rolling along, the better my writing gets. I keep things sparse and to the point.

For example, read my last few posts at the Tour de France site. They are crisper and more fun than the blather I was tossing online in stages 2-5.

In a few minutes I’m going to take you on a little journey from brown truck to open box. Hold tight.

Oh, and then I’ll describe for you the Grampy’s event and give you more info on the stuff I’m doing for The Ethicist.

FUN FUN FUN!

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

I just realized that I’ve got a lot on my plate.

Have to get my Macbook repaired, create the auction booklet for the Grampys Tournament (there’s a post ONLY on that coming later today), clean out the office so I can put a new desk in there and maybe work without spreading out everything I own on the kitchen table, get stupid Verizon to fix my phone line – still out after 48 hours, contemplate buying an iPhone and telling Verizon to bite me, wrap up some product reviews, register and reserve flights for a writer’s conference in Atlanta in September, fix the schedule mess that is my Pawtucket Red Sox season ticket situation, change the oil on the scooter (1500 miles now!), check scooter tire air, buy a larger mattress to fit my larger bed, and flesh out the outlines of all of my books.

Further, I need to work on the Grampy’s Website – www.grampys.org, rotate my tires, fix the belt in the car, pay some bills and plot a path toward success.

Does that sound like I can do it all today?

I didn’t think so either, but my pattern is to get all this stuff on my plate and start nibbling at it until it’s either a disgusting mess of unfinished portions or until I’ve successfully completed a few and started to gather no moss on my way to the clean-plate club.

That’s the path I choose. But for now the one thing that stands out as a necessity is writing. So I’m grabbing the typing machine and heading to the beach or a coffee shop or somewhere where I can bang out some pages.

See you back here after I’ve done that. You’ll be happy because you’ll have another blog post to read. I’ll be happy because I’ll probably stop for ice cream, get my creative juices flowing and get to ride my scooter around a bit more today.

Hooray.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post