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A collection of 33 posts

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Good News! Your Husband Is Subscribed to A Men's Nudist Magazine

Why GoNaked Shows Up as “Good News” I received a delightful email from Jeff the other day. He spotted a charge from Good News Magazine on his credit card, didn’t recognize it, and promptly disputed it with his bank. A little while later, the penny—and perhaps a few

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Coming Out Again

At 62, I am reminded that coming out isn’t something you do just once. Saturday morning, 7:00 a.m. I called an Uber into town because I needed to visit the electric company. As you might recall, a new account had been set up two months earlier, and

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The Prank Email that Turned Into Something More

What the Hell Is This? Monday morning, I received one of those emails that makes you sip your coffee in a long, slow slurp. “What the hell is this? Cancel this. I did not order this.” Well, good morning to you, too. 😊 The email was in response to a receipt

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And Along Comes Mary

I went into town to save money on airport transportation and came home with art, trinkets, and a reminder that I need to leave the damn house more often. Because of where my house sits in relation to the center of San Miguel de Allende, going downtown requires a little

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The Only Gringo at the Table

On the strange fear of being included—and the magic waiting on the other side of yes It is Saturday night, going on 9:00 p.m., and I have just returned home from a six-hour party here in Mexico. Six hours. That is not a party. That is

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How Lucky We Were to Be Here at the Same Time

This has been a strange and heavy week. Dolly Parton died. Tim Curry died. Jaye P. Morgan—the wonderfully unpredictable singer and Gong Show panelist—died. And Yayoi Kusama, the revolutionary Japanese artist who covered the world in polka dots and invited us into infinity, died at 97. Four remarkably

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69 Things Proving I’ve Reached a Certain Age

I’m not saying I’m old. I’m saying I remember when pistachios were red, televisions signed off for the night, and Saturday morning was the only time cartoons belonged to children. None of these memories feels ancient until you mention one around a younger person. Then comes the

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What Would AI Warn People About Before They Met You?

If you use ChatGPT or another AI assistant regularly, try this prompt: “Based on everything you know about me, describe me as if you were warning someone about me before they meet me.” The answer might flatter you, expose you, roast you, or understand you better than expected. I tried

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I’m 62, Naked, and Apparently I Need Support Hose

There are certain things I have always associated with getting old. Early-bird dinners. Pill organizers. Complaining about the thermostat. And support hose. Support hose were definitely on the list. Then TikTok came for me. I was watching a podiatrist who said something along the lines of this: At the

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The Jester’s Job Is More Important Than Ever

Some of you know I do contract work for a company that teaches people how to become retreat leaders. I love the organization. The staff is phenomenal, and I’m honored they want my voice in the mix. Yesterday, I had a meeting with the CEO, and much of our

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Make The Last Time Count

I was vacuuming the house today when a strange thought occurred to me. What if this is the last time I ever clean this house? I don't mean because I'm planning to die tomorrow. Nothing so dramatic. I mean there will eventually be a last time

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Edit the Story You Want to Tell

There’s a great quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.” The attribution to Twain is shaky, but the idea behind the quote is dead-on. Writing something long is easy. You dump

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Turning on a Dime

I went to Russ’s house for dinner last night, like I do every Monday. There’s nothing particularly unusual about our Monday nights. We eat. We talk. We solve some of the world’s problems and create a few new ones. And somewhere during dinner last night, I realized

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The 256-Crayon Box

I was going to write this week about the tragic disappearance of the word “nymphomaniac.” It’s a wonderful word. Nymphomaniac. Five syllables. Greek roots. Slightly clinical. Slightly scandalous. The sort of word you say while wearing a silk dressing gown and holding a cigarette in one of those long

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It Ain't What They're Getting. It's What They Think They're Getting.

Years ago, my friend Mickey did some work with Martha Stewart. One day he told me a story I've never forgotten. One of Martha's cookbooks featured a beautiful raspberry coulis. If you've ever seen one, you know the look. A glossy ribbon of ruby-

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"Why is no one ready?"

If you've seen The Devil Wears Prada, you probably heard that sentence in Miranda Priestly's voice before you even finished reading it. I certainly did. Yesterday morning I scheduled a one-hour onboarding sessionto train people how to use the travel software that I use. Two

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Someday You'll Be Internet Dead

I swear I'm not trying to turn this week's newsletters into a meditation on death. It just seems to be what's circling my desk lately, so I'm going to lean into it. 😊 I was just digging through photos online, looking for handsome

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To Hell and Back

I've always been a Broadway fag. I don't mean that casually. I mean the kind of person who can lose an entire afternoon down a rabbit hole of cast recordings, who knows which revival got the choreography right, and who will happily argue about whether Patti

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Would You Trade Your Troubles?

I want you to try a little thought experiment. Take everything that's bothering you right now. Every frustration. Every disappointment. Every regret. Every fear about the future. Every relationship that's messy. Every health concern. Every financial worry. Every dream that hasn't happened yet. Write

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The Goal Isn't to Look 30

The Goal Is to Make 30-Year-Olds Look Forward to 60 Let's settle something once and for all. The goal isn't to be the oldest guy who can still pass for 30. The goal is to be the 60-year-old who makes 30-year-

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Create Your Own Fantasy Life

This afternoon, I'll welcome six men to Cleveland for what we've affectionately dubbed Fuck Machine Weekend. We'll spend the afternoon getting to know one another before heading out to pick up a few supplies. We'll stop by the dungeon for an introductory

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Between Two Worlds

It is 5:41 on a Tuesday morning. In less than two hours, a shuttle will arrive to take me to the airport. After spending the past month in San Miguel de Allende, it's time to head back to Cleveland for a while. Whenever I spend a month

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I Now Understand Why Everything Takes so Long in Mexico

Carl Sagan once said that if you want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you first have to create the entire universe. I'm beginning to think he wasn't talking about pie. Living down here in Mexico has taught me that every project has a hidden

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An Elder of the Tribe

A few days ago I stumbled across a fascinating video that asked a question I'd never really considered. How did our ancestors sleep safely out in the open when lions, wolves, and every other predator seemed to own the night? The video suggested something beautifully simple. The elders

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What, Me Worry?

A Confession from the monster in my head. Every Friday, almost like clockwork, I have a ritual. I pull up my Chase account and my credit union account. I see what came in from GoNaked, GoNaked Travels, and my other work. The first thing I do is pay myself. Then