Hello. Thank you for being here. I understand it’s not required.

I will endeavor to make these posts worthwhile in some way. They will be fun, or thoughtful, or informative (BUT NEVER ALL THREE), and if you hate them you can print out a picture of my face and spit on it. No harm done.

And just this once, the blog will present a nice picture of some stew:

Please do not ask me for more stew pictures. That would be unseemly.

Nor should you ask, “why stew?” You can leave right now if that’s your attitude.

I am a 47-year-old man who makes his living in show biz. I believe in having dreams, then working your ass off for them.

I think I am a good person, but can always be better. I will strive to do so.

I love weirdos, and proudly claim my membership therein.

I am married to a uniquely wonderful creature named Amy. She and I love to work on our home, have people over, go on adventures, and be silly together. Dangerously silly.

She also has a weird disorder called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, which is about as much fun as it sounds. It is very rare, manageable but incurable, invisible most of the time, and maddeningly sporadic. When you deal with something like this, you quickly find out whom you can count on for support. Eternal thanks and love for these people.

I think our 45th President is the worst in us. The utter lack of humanity or empathy, the calls to violence, the disinterest in facts… I think that those who support him will come to have great grandchildren that hang their heads in shame, like the descendants of Nazi supporters do. Or did. Remember when we all agreed Nazis were bad? Good times.

I stand with LGBTQ and whatever letters get added to that acronym. I believe in compassion, and facts, and science, and that any idea worth its while should be able to stand up to rigorous questioning. I stand with immigrants just trying for a better life. I stand with those who do the difficult, necessary, thankless jobs; teachers and nurses and the service industry.

If you have read this far, only in hopes of finding more information about stews, what is your problem? Why are you obsessed with stew? Maybe you should talk to someone about that.

Thank you. Now go outside, breathe some fresh air, walk barefoot in noodles (cooked). If anyone challenges you on this, throw some of the foot noodles in their direction. They’ll get the message.

- Joe