Saturday, October 18, 2025
With "No Kings" coverage, media is demonstrating why it cannot be trusted
Thursday, October 16, 2025
A much-warranted update on my bipolar disorder
Was looking over my blog this afternoon, and I came to something I hadn't given much thought to in awhile: the Being Bipolar series. That's the project I began in the fall of 2010 (wow, FIFTEEN years ago!) chronicling what it is to have bipolar disorder. Or as many, including increasingly myself, refer to it as manic depression.
It's been a year and a half since the most recent Being Bipolar article. There's never been any intended regular schedule for them. I've composed them as they come to me. As with so much else that I produce I believe more in quality than quantity. And though I've lived with bipolar disorder for half of my life now, it's still something that I find myself taking time to ruminate upon. But I like to think that the series has been a successful one, and I look forward to writing more for it.
But it's been eighteen months since that last article. And maybe it's time to do some reflection on what has transpired between then and now.
Because, for whatever reason, my manic depression has been MUCH more under control for at least a year. I think the last time I had any really serious episode was this past April. That was a depressive one and thankfully I got through it (it's good to have friends who care about you enough to let you call them at 1 in the morning... but that was 10 p.m. to them in California so it worked out).
Anyway, yes: manic depression hasn't plagued me nearly as much in the past year or so than it has most of the time since the winter of 2000, when the symptoms first came about. My thoughts aren't racing like they have before. Depressive episodes fade much sooner. I'm better able to focus my thoughts, without them going completely off the rails. I'm sleeping better. My appetite and eating habits are much healthier (and I'm grateful that my weight is NOT anywhere near where it was at the height of my struggle with bipolar disorder circa 2010 or so). My relationships with others has come to be improved, I believe. My interest in subject matters has increased. I'm reading a lot more for pleasure. My frequency of writing is something that could be better, but I think that's improving.
That latter pertains to the central activity I've been focused on for most of the past two years: completing my book. For the better part of a decade I had been writing for it on and off. It was January 2024 when I decided to home-in on true dedication to producing my autobiography, as so many (especially Dad) have said they wanted me to write. So that's what I've been doing when I wasn't working a job or taking care of my dog Tammy. I made every other iota of my being focused on writing what became known as Keeping the Tryst. Until the week before last November when the first draft was finished. A few weeks later I began editing and revision and that was a whole another process altogether. But finally, on October 1st, my book was released. And people seem to be really enjoying it.
I think working on the book was a tremendously therapeutic thing for me to set about doing. I seem to be at my best when I've got something significant to work on. A few months after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I focused on working on Forcery, my first movie. All of those issues and concerns and nuances, doing my best to keep everyone happy and safe (emphasis on "safe") provided a calming balm to my troubled mind. In those months during 2004 I found a serenity that I have rarely come to know again since. And then I found a similar serenity in 2006 when I ran for school board in Rockingham County, North Carolina. Those were three months when I felt completely detached from the madness. I was too concerned with being a candidate for public office and everything that comes with that, especially with keeping detailed records of contributions and expenditures. I was free during that time. My passion and creativity was bursting and I felt like I was dancing in fire without being singed.
Focusing on the book for the past nearly two years provided another period of serenity. The longest yet. It's gone on for so long that what few episodes have come about in that time, have been so minor as to almost be completely inconsequential.
So now that the book has been published, I'm working on marketing it. And that has become yet another project to focus on. And paralleling that, I believe the time has come to begin writing more op-ed material for consideration toward being published. The last time I composed anything of that nature was nine months ago. I need to get back into that. It was what began my writing career all those years ago in high school, after all. Writing for the purpose of encouraging others to "think a little differently" has been my biggest motivator when it comes to working with pen and keyboard. The season has come to get back into that.
Will bipolar disorder come raging back again? It is something I must be braced for. I've been on pretty much the same regimen of medications that I've been on for fifteen years now. They've maintained efficacy quite well. But I must be prepared for some time in the future when those no longer work as well, if at all. That is an ever-present risk. It could come next week or a year from now or ten. It may not come at all.
As with everything else, I'm taking it one day at a time. Being thankful for what mind that I do have. Making the most of that. Living better than what for many years I had thought possible.
Who knows. Maybe God will bring a special lady into my life after all, sooner than later.
A new reader question about Keeping the Tryst
Following the first question a few days ago, I've received another query from someone who is reading my new book Keeping the Tryst. And it's a good one...
"What was the 'most disturbing visual aid' that anyone in the argumentative writing class had ever seen, that involved a jar of tea, some aluminum foil and three or four balls of Silly Putty?"
Ahhh yes. That. It was January of 1993, when I was at Rockingham Community College, when I did that little stunt. Involving nothing but items found at the average grocery store or Walmart.Listen: I'm not sharing that with anybody. It's something you HAD to be there to experience. Twenty-some innocent souls including Mr. Conte the instructor were there to witness it and I doubt any of them have spoken about it either. I doubt they've even wanted to think about it. It was just too much.
All I'll say is that the power of suggestion can be a terrible, terrible thing.
It did help get our group an "A" though. And Mr. Conte said that it made him think about some things he'd never considered before. And after that stunt it seems EVERY other group had to have a gimmick to make their presentation stand out. 😀
Funny thing though: Every class that Mr. Conte took roll for after that, he would call out my name and then give me this look, like "Oh Lord please don't do anything crazy today."
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Former writer admits what we all know: Doctor Who is DEAD
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I know: this pic is from "The Name Of The Doctor" from the Steven Moffat era. Its bleakness is plenty fitting for this post though. |
Friday, October 10, 2025
First question from a reader about Keeping the Tryst
Okay, someone just asked the very first question that I've been given about Keeping the Tryst. This is from a person has finished part one.
Here's the question: "What was the joke that you told your uncle?"
If you've been reading the book, scroll down past the spoiler space and you'll find the answer...
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The question pertains to the joke that Mom asked me to share with my Uncle Frank, who was Dad's brother-in-law, late that night after they got back from the hospital following Dad's accident earlier in the afternoon.
I had heard this joke at school earlier that afternoon. And I admit that at the time I thought it was pretty funny, though I hadn't grasped yet just how serious it really was. It's not a joke I would tell now, forty years later.
Here's the joke:
"What do you call Rock Hudson in a wheelchair?"
"Roll-AIDS."
This wasn't very long after actor Rock Hudson had died of AIDS. Hudson's coming forward about being infected with HIV was a revelation that sent shockwaves through American pop culture. And of course Rolaids is a popular antacid/heartburn medication.
Definitely an Eighties-era joke and like I said, it's not one I would tell anyone these days. But I fleetingly mention it in the book, it sort of adds to the scene that I'm describing: Mom and Uncle Frank returning after being at the hospital all evening, bringing cold hamburgers from Hardee's for my sister and mine's dinner. When I had told Mom the joke on the way back from school that afternoon she said she didn't like it. And now here was Mom wanting me to share that same joke with my uncle. It kind of underscores how dire the day had become just like that (Chris snaps fingers).
If any more questions come, I'll be sure to provide an answer (as best I can).
And if you want to read my book here's the page on Amazon where you can find Keeping the Tryst. Available in hardcover and for Kindle readers and apps.
Thursday, October 09, 2025
It's been a week since Keeping the Tryst was published...
...and I just checked the metrics. According to the report, the book has sold very well so far, considering that I'm a relative unknown (outside of this blog, various stunts over the years and the occasional op-ed piece). Right now it's holding at around #90 in the survival biographies genre, and hovering about #1200 among all memoirs in the Kindle store. Not bad at all for a newly-minted book author eight days in.
I've gotten some feedback from people who have bought the Keeping the Tryst hardcover. Every one has commented on how readable it is, despite the 537 pages length. The font size and the cream-colored paper are very easy on the eyes, and that the chapters are divided into so many sections also makes the book readily digestible and fast-moving. One person read the entire book in two days.
At the moment, I'm quite pleased about what's happened since its release. I'm hoping that there will get to be some word-of-mouth and that others will consider purchasing and reading it. I never expected to be a bestselling author right out the gate and that probably won't happen. But a lot of people over the years have said that my story is one that many would find not just interesting, but captivating. I believe them, enough so that I worked on this book on-and-off for over a decade. I've said that if even just one person found reading it to be time well spent, then my task as an author will be successful. Based on the figures I looked at earlier, the book has smashed through that target... and how!
Keeping the Tryst is available in hardcover edition and in Kindle ebook format.
Wednesday, October 08, 2025
I need to make more posts like this
So Game Wardens in Texas have arrested this guy, 39 year old Ethan McNeely from Oregon.He was crouched in the woods attempting to hunt squirrels with nothing but his hands and teeth near Lake Tawakoni Dam
Ethan insists that “I’m a primal predator, not a sportsman” and argued with the officers that “God-given claws and fangs” exempt him requiring a hunting license.
Ethan goes on saying “If I catch it with my molars, that’s between me and Mother Nature” while reportedly spitting out a mouth full of tree bark.
Game wardens have stated that while his hunting techniques are unique, there exists no game law that makes exceptions for “wannabe cavemen”.
Ethan was booked on charges of hunting without a license and disorderly conduct after he reportedly growled at the officers. He maintains that he’s being persecuted saying “they can cage me but they’ll never cage my inner wolf.”
Ahhh Oregon, the "Florida Man" refuge of the Northwest. But I suppose in an age when we're supposed to tolerate people "identifying" as everything from the opposite gender to kittens, we can forgive a man for assuming the role of werewolf.
The judge should dismiss the charges, on the grounds that this man has comedic value.
Monday, October 06, 2025
"God must have needed a photographer, and He got the very best with Tim."
That was one of the very first thoughts that came to mind this morning.
My heart felt like it broke into a hundred pieces yesterday afternoon, upon hearing of the passing of my very good friend Tim Talley.Tim was many things to many people. I suppose the first aspect that comes to the minds of lots of folks is that he was an amazing photographer. For more than forty years Tim made his mark not just in Reidsville and Rockingham County, but throughout the Piedmont region. Tim was blessed with an incredible vision and sense of composition. The man worked with light the way that the finest sculptors work with clay. Tim came up with seemingly countless ways of staging photos and he would go to whatever lengths it took to pull them off. He also had a way of bringing out the best of his subjects. Everyone was beautiful in his eye and he knew how to capture and convey that with his camera. Tim had ways of pulling off the almost impossible... like when he coaxed my dachshund Tammy into sitting still when we did a photo shoot with him in 2017. I had told him that if he could do that then he was a better man than me... and lo and behold he did it!
If nothing else then the many thousands of portraits that he made, hanging in family living rooms throughout the region, attests to his talent.
Those who knew him best, though, will remember him for so much else.
Tim was a devoted husband to his wife Donna, and a father to his son Brandon. He absolutely adored Brandon's wife and their three daughters. When Tim finally retired some years ago, it was always with it borne in mind that he and Donna were going to move to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania so he could be closer to Brandon and his family.
And once Tim got situated in Lancaster County, he very quickly made friends among the people there, especially his Amish neighbors. I think Tim might have been the one photographer they trusted enough with his getting an occasional picture of them (but not for widespread publication, those were meant for his friends and family). Not long after relocating there, Tim became the driver of a tour bus, and he became much beloved for his knowledge, his sense of humor, and just the fact that he was a southerner driving visitors around "Amish Country".
Tim's good cheer and friendliness were absolutely contagious. His smile lit up everything... and every one... who came into his proximity. I don't think Tim ever met a stranger. And in that regard, he certainly became a role model for my own place in this world.
Tim had principles. He stood resolute upon them. I think it's safe to say that there were some people who didn't agree with those. But there was too much respect for Tim than to think any less of him for those. With Tim, you knew where he was positioned. And that had to be admired by all who knew him or knew of him.
Tim devoted his life to serving God, in whatever capacity that might be. God gave him a talent and Tim was determined to make the most of it. He truly was a brother in Christ who cared for all who came into his life, for however long or brief it might have been.
I think that most of all, though, what especially rends my heart right now, is that I have lost a true friend.
I had my photo taken by Tim several times. I also knew him from the Boy Scouts. He and I were adult leaders in Reidsville's Troop 797. In fact, that's where I first laid eyes on him, after seeing his work displayed around the area for years already. Once, a month or so before I graduated from high school, Tim and me and several other Scouts and Scouters made a long drive to camp in the North Carolina mountains for a weekend and to hike part of the Appalachian Trail. Tim made sure to bring a camera along to snap photos. He took to mountain hiking the way a fish takes to water. The troop also went camping a few times at Tim's place outside of Reidsville.
We were already friends. When Facebook came along that gave us more opportunity to keep in touch on a regular basis. Tim often shared some of his latest handiwork, and he was ever eager to demonstrate to his readers how he worked his trade. I learned a lot about photography from Tim and his informal academy. I believe a lot of people did, too.
Well, I could say so much, much more. All that I really know since yesterday afternoon is that the world has lost a tremendously talented man, a family has lost a husband and a father and a grandfather, two communities hundreds of miles apart have lost a respected citizen, and I have lost a wonderful friend.
Until we meet again, Tim. Thank you for being you. And I thank God that He let you be in our lives, for however brief a season it seemed.
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Keeping The Tryst has been released!!
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Keeping the Tryst: The first copy has arrived!
It got here about thirty minutes ago.
As you can see Tammy approves! :-)
Keeping the Tryst arrives in hardcover and for Kindle ebook this coming Wednesday, October 1st, at 12:00 a.m. UTC. That's 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on September 30th. My friends and I are thinking of having a small release party counting down to the moment it publishes. Hey how many times do you get to say in your life that your first book is being published? :-D
Friday, September 26, 2025
An Elon student's very impressive op-ed about Queens merger
Last week my alma mater, Elon University, announced that it was merging with Queens University over a hundred miles away in Charlotte, North Carolina. Which was a proclamation that had me - and many others it seems - scratching their heads. What exactly is Elon's angle here? The last time that Elon made any significant branching-out was the law school in Greensboro some years ago. But that's vastly different from wholesale engulfing another higher-learning institution.
Along with the seemingly unceasing construction that's been going on for as long as I can remember (I graduated in 1999), it's now coming inescapably apparent that Elon has a voracious appetite for real estate and that's not necessarily a good thing.
Current Elon student Alex Nettles has composed an extremely well-written, researched and articulated opinion piece that's been published on Elon's in-house news operation. "The Elon Empire: Why the Queens University merger shows deeper problems" is a nigh-on brutal intervention for the college's expansion ambitions. In it, Nettles argues that Elon is looking more toward its geographic footprint more than where it should really matter. Namely, increasing its endowment, which has become imperiled by current trends regarding enrollment at colleges nationwide. As Nettles describes it...
Elon has a fixation on qualifying its success with physical growth. Go on a walk through campus. You’ll see why tours are a big deal here. They have a lot of buildings to point to, like a guide in Greece pointing to ruins.
Outside of Richard W. Sankey hall, tour guides lead groups around, while gesturing at buildings. The steel frame of the Health EU building hangs in the distance. The construction site used to be an open field. Distant sounds of steel come close to disorienting the guide's extroversion. There is a legacy of physical growth as progress on campus.
This legacy can be traced with how much we spend. The Health EU Building will cost $60 million, the East Neighborhood Commons cost $19.7 million and Founders and Innovation Hall cost $31 Million. A rough estimation of $110.7 Million since 2022. For perspective, the most recent endowment statistic was $322 million.
So think about it.The endowment is our pool of money to shield a university from years of downturns. We’ve spent 34% of our 2023 endowment. The money didn’t come straight from the endowment, but it reveals a lot.
Well, it's just an enormously enlightening - and rather disturbing, if we are going to be honest - opinion piece. Mr. Nettles should be proud of himself for the work itself and much more so, having the courage to put the issue in the forefront of the administration's awareness. From one Elon columnist to another: bravo Alex Nettles!
Thursday, September 25, 2025
Thankful to God for my Tammy
Monday, September 22, 2025
Forgive me, for I have sinned (against good grammar)...
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Keeping The Tryst: "What is the deal with your name?"
Some people are asking about my name on my book Keeping the Tryst: "Robert Christopher Knight". Inside the book I'm almost always referred to as Chris, which is what I've answered to all my life. So where does "Robert" come from?
Okay, here it goes...My full name is Robert Christopher Knight. My dad was Robert Rankin Knight. Instead of me being a "junior" my parents gave me a different middle name. And I guess to differentiate Dad and I when someone was attempting to communicate with one of us, they called me Chris. And that's the way it's been for all my life: I've been "Chris Knight". I've very rarely been called "Robert Knight". One of my first teachers in college called me "Bob" early on and he was REALLY confounded about my preferring to be "Chris".
So, I'm Chris Knight. But whenever I've published something or run for office (which there will likely only ever be one time that I do that) I've done so as "Christopher Knight". Why? It's in the pages of my book. It's something I do in honor of what God has done in my life. Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle. Just so, I took on a different name for my writing (and other stuff).
But the REAL reason why my name is "Robert Christopher Knight" on the cover and title page of my book?
I don't want to be confused with Christopher Knight who played Peter on The Brady Bunch.