Uncommon Content

The DEA recently re-categorized marijuana from schedule I to schedule III. This story is one of my few stories with no repercussions for me. I just like the story, and as we change our views on what constitutes a dangerous drug, I think it should be told.
I don't think my stories should ever be emulated, but understanding them should be important to everyone. We have been making beer for thousands of years, so I don't think mind-altering substances are going anywhere. Although alcohol and opioids are the clearly the most dangerous, it is time to take a better look at psychedelics.
And remember, drugs will take you nowhere, but at least it's the scenic route.

This is Uncommon Content's introductory episode. Michael Durso is a the author of OFF THE RESERVATION; Stories I Almost Took To The Grave & Probably Should Have.
Equal parts shocking and moving, Off the Reservation is an absurdist confessional memoir, accurately detailing the reckless hijinks of a bipolar alcoholic. This stranger-than-fiction true story spans over three (five now!) decades, as Michael recounts his tales with wincing honesty. .
Uncommon Content is an extension of Michael's past writing, as well as many stories yet unheard. Stuck in the middle of Generation X, Michael has a lifetime of stories that will make you laugh, at least at him... and possibly give you some perspective.
Michael Durso is a walking trigger warning!

The 1982 St. Louis Cardinals were my introduction to the fairness of sport, in a world where nothing else made sense, and everybody wanted something. To hope for, or be crestfallen by, circumstances completely out of my control was a valuable lesson. I'll let you know when I've learned it.
Thank you baseball... GO CARDS!
Favorite baseball joke before they finally won a championship:
What did Jesus say to the Cubs?
Don't do anything until I get back." People will come, Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn into your driveway, not knowing for sure why they’re doing it.

They’ll arrive at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past. “Of course, we won’t mind if you look around.” You’ll say. “It’s only twenty dollars per person.” And they pass over the money without even thinking about it. Whereas money they have, and peace they lack....

And they’ll walk off to the bleachers and sit in their short sleeves on a perfect afternoon. And find they have reserved seats somewhere along the baselines where they sat when they were children. And cheer their heroes. And they’ll watch the game, and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray.

The one constant through all the years Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steam rollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People most definitely will come." Darth Vader - Field of Dreams

Last week I called Sigourney Weaver a demonic dog, and that was in error. It was a sloppy mistake. I hope that this deep dive on some of my worst mistakes is an acceptable apology.
Two men were sitting at a bar one night talking about mistakes. The first guy said he'd had a horrible Freudian slip just days earlier, when he was at the airport and mistakenly asked the large breasted woman behind the counter for "two Pickets to Titsburgh". The other man laughed, and said the exact same thing had happened to him while he was having breakfast with his wife.
He said, "I meant to ask her to please pass the salt, but what came out was - you ruined my life honey."

Chapter 3 - Square Burgers & Savings
Equal parts shocking and moving, Off the Reservation: Stories I Almost Took to the Grave and Probably Should Have is an absurdist confessional memoir, accurately detailing the reckless hijinks of a bipolar alcoholic with borderline personality disorder. This stranger-than-fiction true story spans over three decades, as Michael recounts his tales with wincing honesty. Eventually, the maniacal nights of booze, drugs, and sex give way to rude awakenings in empty rooms, jail cells, and beds of snow from a failed suicide by Mother Nature. Rossi learns most of his lessons--gradually, reluctantly, painstakingly--without imposing them on anyone. Thankfully for us, these unapologetic, darkly comic tales haven't been taken to the grave just yet.