The Casual Casuist

I turned forty-five this year, the same year Chat GPT turned four. And while I always figured some young buck would enter my company and seize the reins of my job, I at least thought I’d get to train them, then smile as they gave a warm speech at my retirement party. Alas, it looks like some cousin or sibling of Chat GPT like Claude, Grok, or Voldemort is going to not only take my job, but I’m inadvertently training them right now, and if you’re using AI, then so are you. When will this happen?

Among my many, many embarrassing memories, one that stands out to best exemplify my cynicism is the time a gorgeous 28-year-old Italian student was in my class for five weeks (I was her English teacher). I was 30 and single, and after a few weeks, I got the feeling she was flirting with me. I was flattered, but at the end of her studies, things went sour, and it was my fault. She gave me a card at the end of our last class then waited for me to open it.

When I was little, I remember being proud of a vague thing my parents told me: “You are a Jew.” But this statement-of-fact didn’t come with context or instructions. I was just told I was this thing—a Jew—then left on my own to make meaning of it. I think the reason they said this was to explain why we, Jews, celebrated “other holidays” (translation: not Christmas or Easter).

This is my wife’s favorite chapter from my first novel, Dysfunction. I wrote it in 2010 as my thesis for my MFA. My mom and wife LOVE this book. I wrote it in three days, listening to Pink Floyd’s The Wall on repeat. It’s about 12 people permanently trapped in an underground shelter in Las Vegas, built to house 10,000 people in an emergency. This is fiction. Enjoy! I haven’t had an erection for more than ten years.

Question 1 (or 2 or 3): I love to ponder difficult questions, as Socrates suggested we do, so I hope you do too. But if you don’t, why not? And does this count as 1 question? Or is it 2? Or 3? Uh-oh.... Question 2 (or 3 or 4): Why do medical facilities book our appointments for a specific time, then the day before the appointment, tell us we must arrive 15 minutes early? Why can’t they just make that part of the visit? At the very least, couldn’t they tell us that earlier?

I’ve been releasing a weekly email everySundaysince March of 2006. I mention this, because I just sent this on a Saturday, for the first time ever. Yes, I’m breaking a 20+ year streak today, Saturday, September 5th, 2026, because my father turned 80 today! My dad, Len, is a truly remarkable man. Unlike his first son, my brother Sam, who is a notorious procrastinator (Although I doubt he’ll procrastinate in commenting on this). I’m kidding.

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This is the second part of this essay. please follow this link for Part 1. I should mention that I wouldn’t have my problem if I was opposed to video games or fantasy. It would be easy to ignore friends and society’s obsession with both if I had a chip on my shoulder, or a political, moral, or religious reason to abstain. But I don’t. And my proof is sci-fi. I love science-fiction. I mean I seriously gobble it up, and always have. You name a famous sci-fi novel that isn’t Dune, and I’ve read it.

When I was five-years-old, I received the greatest gift of my life: The Nintendo Entertainment System.

I’m raising a five-year-old. And while I don’t think that’s oversharing, what follows…? I’ll let you decide.