<![CDATA[TRUTH-LIES...with FD Thornton

<![CDATA[TRUTH-LIES...with FD Thornton - Stories]]>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:17:22 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Common Good]]>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 22:12:30 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/common-good

With the sky not being able to make up its mind whether it wants to be hazy or sunny, I sit here this morning in a bit of a haze myself. Between the strange vivid dreams and my sinuses, I got through my routine of taking my pills and refilling my bride’s pill caddies.

With the candlelit and the pounding of horse hoofs upstairs, I’ll do my best to entertain you with the recounting of my extremely boring life. My autistic son just came in to ESPN me on last night’s football games, and in a moment of clarity we discussed the different strategies each team used for the time zone change and running up the score.

My youngest just put some air in a slack tire on the Kia, so I can safely drive some 40 miles to a distant pharmacy. But such as it is, for an aging white man, who focused on what’s real and not the opinion of some talking head tell him what’s real. So I do my damnedest “not” to look at the world from 50,000 feet. Instead I like to make up my opinions by what I see from the ground. In other words, through the words I hear in one-on-one conversations.

It’s easy to judge people when you lump them in into one big pile. Like all poor people are lazy, or that all disabled people are just milking the system, or that all trans people are pedophiles.

It’s sad to assume that all individuals can be summed up in one tidy word, especially in a nation that prides itself on the power of the individual. But such as it is, when the words come from an ignorant white man living in the rural south. How about we all just pull our heads out of our asses and see things as they really are. That the sowing seeds of division is nothing more than a tactic used against the common good.

#Division #Fearmongering #Tactics #Unity #Equality #CommonGood

]]><![CDATA[What Is Real?]]>Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:17:01 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/what-is-real6811451

FD Thornton - Little Ocmulgee State Park

The candle’s lit, the pills dispensed, and I went to the bathroom and got dressed. It’s safe to say, my life is now complete. It’s a cloudy gloomy Labor Day for us here and I haven’t seen a soul in the complex stirring about. After a good early sleep, I got up to do what every old man does, but had trouble getting back to sleep.

I had myself a mild panic attack thinking I wasn’t getting enough air through my CPAP mask. But apparently I calmed myself down and fell asleep for the next four hours. Till my bride sprung out of bed worried she might miss something. As to what, I have no clue.
So I filled her prescription caddies with the next seven days of medication. Noting the days where she forgot to take her medicine. I do my damnedest to have each of her doses on a timer, but she often leaves her phone in the room with me.

So what else is there left to talk about? I don’t know other than I didn’t take any fake vacations to the islands or go out to some exclusive restaurant and post fake images of my food. Whatever happened to simply living, taking walks in the park or putting on headphones and listening to real music?

Better yet what happened to a boring conversation with a friend? Sitting around a fire pit or sitting on the lawn furniture listening to the crickets and the frogs bellow? We live in a sterile lab now, free from harmful germs that can contaminate the mind and free the soul. Fed by a machine that for good or evil, always sides with the profit of it all.

So ask yourself, are you happy in there? Or is this the only existence you’ve ever known?

#Reflection #WhatIsReal #Artificial #ForProfit #Zen

]]><![CDATA[Sending My Way]]>Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:21:17 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/sending-my-way

My Father's Gravesite

It’s after 9am and I am barely awake, I got up about an hour ago and doom scrolled across the apps, searching for something and yet nothing at all. I dreamed of my grandmother’s old house in Bloomingdale all abandoned and rotten by now. Sitting near a warehouse where a quiet community once stood.

Bittersweet dreams have haunted me of late. Hard but comforting at the same time, filled with ghost from the past I don’t mind reseeing. I wonder if my parents or grandparents did the same or were they too busy living in the moment to worry about such things.

Questions I know will never get answered in the vast darkness of time. My faith teaches me to focus on the here and now, and not to dwell on past mistakes or tomorrow’s indecisions. Instead it asks me to keep my head in the game, which is the moment. But you must be willing to forgive yourself when your mind strays. For intolerance to imperfection, only leads your heart to misery.

So I sit here, my head still kind of loopy, looking out on the overcast sky. Dwelling just a little, if any on the meaning of my dreams. Wishing for a little bit of the past, dreaming of someone I miss, and encouraging myself with the faith I know they are sending my way.

#Dreams #Reminders #Forgiveness #Mindfulness #Knowing

]]><![CDATA[On Their Own Terms]]>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:57:03 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/on-their-own-terms

After a night of college football, Buddhist podcast, and a repeating dream of long gone family. I grabbed a hot shower, made the bed, and opened the curtains. As expected it looks gloomy outside and also as usual my bride is fussing about something. So let’s say, it’s a near perfect morning.

I have a new friend on the Gulf Coast, she is a bit out there, but she has a good heart and someday she’ll have a good story to tell. She reads tarot cards live by the beach every morning to drum up business for her yoga/tarot/chakra/meditation practice. Which she offers in group and individual sessions along the Alabama Gulf Coast.

I think she has a niche market due to her offering remote sessions on the beach or pool side for vacationers. I don’t know why I keep up with her like I do other than she reminds me of many of her generation seeking a higher purpose than just a nine to five.

She reminds me of myself in that she stumbles through, putting her mistakes out there in plain view. Rarely apologizing for simply being human.

In this crazy branded made-up world it’s nice to see genuine personality shine through. So her along with a number of others I follow, it gives me joy in knowing that I am not the only one that stumbles just to find a degree of peace-of-mind on their own terms.

#Independent #FreeSpirit #WriteYourRules #Unique #Individual

]]><![CDATA[Nothingness]]>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:14:57 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/nothingness

Ever been in one of those moods where you just don’t feel like doing anything? And yet, you don’t feel like just sitting down and doing nothing. Well that’s exactly where I am today, in those nether regions of nothingness.

So I light a new candle and watch my bank account drop to near nothing, as the bills are being automatically withdrawn. I know that’s supposed to be the convenient way of paying, but yet it still feels like you’re being robbed.

I know I could sit here and complain about all this shit, while all my Dances with Fairies friends tell me, “To just breathe in all that positive energy”. Well I’m too much like my Generation Jones friends to do that, growing up in the Wonder Years of the 60’s, only to get shafted in 80’s Reaganomics. So where does that leave me? Somewhere between wishing that “Kumbaya” worked and being a cynical prick.

But that’s just the way life is, when granted a myriad of choices. Our parents and even us didn’t have endless choices of entertainment or smartphones or the Internet to steal our time back then. We were forced to entertain each other with conversation and play. I truly miss those days and look forward to when I can get together with my remaining old friends, just to sit around the couch and talk.

So while New Agey friends speak about the silence, my desire is to engage in real conversation. Like when we would sit around a firepit, pass a bottle or a joint around, and talk about nothing. Instead of trying to hustle each other out of a nickel.

#Reminiscing #Connection #Loneliness #Fear #GenJones

]]><![CDATA[Side Hustle]]>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:06:14 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/side-hustle

Available in Paperback & Kindle

I got an email late last night informing me that my new paperback and eBook are live on Amazon Kindle. What that means is my new book “Two-Finger Musing” is available to buy through the Amazon Kindle Store. For nearly ten years I’ve been publishing my work exclusively through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), simply because it’s cheap and fairly easy to use.

I have never sold very many copies; I jokingly told someone recently I may have made $100, if that much, off my work. So to call it a side hustle might be stretching it. But after the very disappointing sales of the first eBooks and paperbacks, I just chalked it up as something to do to pass the time.

But it’s a little more than that; it’s my passion project, my hobby if you will. I’ve been posting my stories and poems for a very long time. First on chat boards, then on blog posts, and later on my own website. My justification, other than a little ego, was always to make it a confessional—a place where I can publicly hold myself accountable.

And so far the dividends have paid off, not so much in viewership or even likes, but in the idea that I have held myself accountable. Plus, the loyal following I do have is the best drug ever. So after posting my last post to my website this morning, I decided to start this. Not so much as a promotion for my first printed collection in two years, but as a statement that no matter what you do creatively, do it with all your heart and soul. Because the dividends outweigh the sacrifice.

#SideHustle #Passion #Creativity #Accountability #Art

]]><![CDATA[Fuzzy Headed]]>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:15:47 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/fuzzy-headed

It looks like we might have a sunny day outside, I finished off the last of my medicine and spoke briefly to my father-in-law. I didn’t get to bed till 2:30 last night, when one of the neighbors upstairs sounded like they fell on the floor at around one in the morning.

Other than that my upper back is giving me a fit , while I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open. But the new candle burns with renewed intensity while I do my damnedest to focus. But my thoughts of late were centered on a new book project, my first in two years. It centers on what all my books center on, my total ramblings about myself and my mundane world.

But such as it is, it’s an investment of time, but time well spent allowing my mind to focus on anything but the endless pacing and boredom of my world. It takes me back to my days in study and at work, figuring out problems and leading teams to solutions for the client.

But all that’s in the past and these brief spurts of focused energy are good for my soul. I focus outside for a moment, admiring the fact that the bushes and hedges finally got trimmed. But as for me, maybe the day is best spent on top of a heating pad, admiring the work of others while sending notes of encouragement. Something I often did for my team members when tasks were completed or a problem occurred.

For that is the best way to treat others, as well as yourself. Because for the most part people want to feel like they are appreciated and that they matter. It just falls in line with the whole herd mentality, where everyone wants to feel valued and respected.

#TreatingOthers #Respect #Appreciation #Focus #NewBook

]]><![CDATA[Hot Summer Days]]>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:18:40 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/hot-summer-days

Photo By: Damocean

It’s a cloudy morning. The non-working among us are milling about outside. Either picking up groceries, having a smoke, or walking the dog. As for me, I’m just taking it all in through the comfort of a window. I got my electric bill today, informing me my “budget bill” is going up by $20 this month and another $20 the next month. So much for budgets.

I’m watching a neighbor walking along the sidewalk having a smoke, getting in their exercise and their shitty habits all at the same time. But look at me, I can’t say much. I’m sitting here motionless with a bad back and no desire to move, like a sloth on a hot summer day.

There is no great lesson here folks, it is what it is just killing time. High octane people would tell you, “Get out there and grab life by the balls!” But my response would be, “My balls are too low to grab.” So without a lot of fanfare, all I got to say is, do what you got to do.

Cause some days are not even meant for reflection—they’re just meant to be days. So while I hang on till the weekend just to do the monthly cycle all over again. Know that you are not alone in this shared misery. That life ain’t all rainbows and happy puppies, it’s cloudy days where you can’t see the sun and barking-ass little dogs pissing all over your rugs.

#Reflection #Observation #Truth #Reality #Life

]]><![CDATA[Public Feed]]>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 15:43:14 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/public-feed

After a night of storms, I had trouble sleeping last night. Not so much from the storms, but from the crazy dreams I had all night trying to elude the cops that were chasing me and two other guys. We hid out in my Grandma’s old house on Oak Street in Bloomingdale, while the cops searched all around the neighborhood. The dream seemed to end with me staying at the house while my companions snuck away.

It was an interesting dream to experience especially since I was listening to Patti Smith’s M Train while I slept. But I’ll do anything to drown out the mourning of my old CPAP Machine. Now its lonesome groans can be heard over the box fan.

So I grin and bear it along with my wife, who in her hemp induced sleep, doesn’t seem to be bothered by it. So I play along with the game just to see how it ends. Knowing that mostly it ends with me compromising with life just to keep the peace for everyone else.

I didn’t mean to wake up in a melancholy mood any more than I wanted to wake up all hyper and excited about the day. Neither one seems to suit me; I’d much rather be engaging in a curious but not so nosy kinda way.

So there you have it, the gist of my morning. I don't want to consume myself in the ho-hum of the upcoming day, without being too engaging with the people I’ll meet. Because today’s person would much rather feed you crumbs from the table of a public feed.

#HoHum #Crumbs #Fear #SocialCommentary #ModernLife

]]><![CDATA[Take Care]]>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:02:31 GMThttps://www.fdthornton.com/stories/take-care

FD Thornton

Wish I could describe for you a beautiful sunrise, but the sun only sets on this side of my apartment. I wish I could describe for you a blue waving ocean, but the closest shore to me is 125 miles due East.

I’m feeling a bit melancholy this morning, after a long trip to my nephrologist's office yesterday. Among all my other ailments, my GP has me see a “kidney doctor” quarterly to see how my kidneys are functioning. Usually, I’m in the early stages of kidney disease, but this trip my numbers fell sharply, so we are trying some new treatments.

When I first went to my nephrologist, I noticed a slight hum coming from the walls, a noise I could still hear yesterday. What I came to discover is that that was the hum of kidney dialysis machines in the office behind the wall. A sobering reminder of what could happen if you don’t treat the disease.

Anyway, that’s the reason for my melancholy mood.

Other than that, there ain’t much to tell you, as if you really want to know. But to the few loyal readers I have out there, I say thank you. My main reason for even doing this is threefold. First, it’s my meditation—this is my way of clearing my head of the shit that wants to live inside it. Second, it’s my penitence for all the wrongs I have done, by spreading just a little bit of good Karma back into the world. And lastly, it’s simply sending a message to the ether that someone is listening and understands.

So take from my words what you will. I try to keep my stories short so they don’t take up too much of your time. I guess I could video post like everyone else, but I don’t have the guts or patience to expose my mind to such torture. So to all of you still with me, take care.

#Confessional #Introduction #Meditation #Clearing #TakeCare

]]>