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Lucas J. Draeger

Banish me to a dark corner, chain me to a keyboard, and I will gladly be a word slave. I'd sit there all day, with only an occasional demand for a coffee break.
I'm a would-be (wanna be) author, middle aged, fairly repressed, but extremely BLESSED with an amazing wife and two brilliant boys.
For several years, I've been haunted by images of the starving, drug addicted, victimized teens of the streets. I write about them a lot.

I’m Just Tired

I’m soul-sucking tired, hurt all over, counting the days till hernia surgery number two inside of two years, and I guess I feel like talking to Jesus again. Sometimes I wish I could go back, unsee what I’ve seen; it’s easier to feel satisfied when you’re delusional. Not […]

Your Bloody Fingers

For my forty-ninth birthday, I’ve gifted myself a story about a guy with a problem similar to my own. After writing this quirky piece, I’m no closer to knowing why this problem persists for me. At least I had fun writing. Enjoy! “Happy birthday, Henry.” “Oh! Thanks. Surprised […]

Happens To You Smile

“Active Bodies, Quiet Minds” You will find those words displayed in every H-Wise yoga studio you enter. I was not the first to come up with the phrase, but I was the first to register the trademark. For good measure, I also trademarked busy bodies, still minds; working […]

Do the Difficult

It didn’t strike me until Ms. Christmas said, “I’m going to pick up our one kid from school.”“Can you believe it?” she asked. “We only have one kid!”I’m getting a little slow with age. A few ticks of the clock went by before I caught her meaning. We […]

Total Eddie 2022

Welcome to Total Eddie, 2022 edition. I’ll forgive you if you don’t know what I mean by Total Eddie. Posts to this blog have been sparse in recent years, New Year’s posts in particular. Total Eddie is an initialism for the acronym TTLETY, or, top things Luke experienced […]

There Are No Birthdays

If the saxophone is the world’s sexiest instrument, the baritone sax must be its tubby sister no one wants to date. While the sax is out front getting glory, hitching itself to names like Coltrane, Parker, and Getz, the bari hangs behind, nameless and faceless. I’m one of […]

Get Your Head Out Of The Game

“You taught me the courage of stars before you left.How light carries on endlessly, even after death.”Saturn – Sleeping At Last We’ve been binging episodes of Friday Night Lights at my house. It’s an entertaining and addictive show that’s only nominally about football and much more about teen […]

Wish of a Billion Wishers

The girl with the sticky fingers doesn’t know she holds a rare artifact beneath her thumb. Please don’t think she’s stupid for that. Her mother doesn’t know either. Neither would you, were it your hand holding me (or your jeans pocket, or change purse, or the little compartment […]