Seven Fictional Conversations — Dedicated to the memory of George Carlin, who I wish was still around to cut through the ever-new and ever-increasing layers of dazzling deception dished out to get people to be willing to die and kill for The War Racket. ONE The line to the entrance of the bawdy house stretched…

A History (With A Soundtrack) — This is the continuation of The Wars and I (1951–1971) The Wars and I (1951–1971) A History (With A Soundtrack)alexanderhirka.medium.com And so here we are today. I was going to begin by saying that I have lived, since Vietnam, through many many other wars. The most I can truly say is that I’ve lived through many many protests in the streets against these ongoing atrocities. Afghanistan. Iraq…

In Pursuit of the Ingredients for Awe — The Story of Our Restaurant Everything we experience enters through our senses. Our eyes are captivated by a Charles Burchfield painting. Our ears are soothed by the perfect notes in a Sinatra song. Our noses are fascinated by a bouquet of Lily of the Valley. And of course our tastebuds are awakened by an exceptional…

Restless Horizontal — He lay his head on the pillow, eyes closing to the outlines of the room created by the streetlight through the curtains. And so his ears took over the vigilance. As his body relaxed on the bed he pulled a cool smooth sheet over himself. They had made love. She was…

Signs Of The Times — Part 1 of 3

A Bird’s Eye View — This was all still pretty new. Soaring from tree to tree—daring dives, exalted soars. Glancing down, wondering what was in that little box where the finches were so busily feeding. Lost in the brilliance of the blue sky above, the luscious green grass below. …

An Urban Safari (Still Life) — “New York City really has it all.” — The Ramones While pigeons wobble and fly and squirrels and rats do scurry — these motionless creatures delight; rare among New Yorkers — they’re not in a hurry! Elephants.

Metastasized Through The Entire Species — Make Them Think It Is Normal He swung his AK-47 around—in slow motion—the barrel now resting on his shoulder. Without even turning his head around to see where he was shooting—one finger on his ear to buffer the sound, the other on the trigger—he sprayed his load of bullets into…

Pareidolia On Parade — Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus—often an image or sound—being perceived as significant. It is a form of apophenia—which is a more general term for the human tendency to seek patterns in random information. Everyone experiences it from time to time. Common examples include seeing…