Paleolithic

For Yogi, and my many other brothers, in and out of arms, in and out of harm’s way: We started sharp and young, so strongThat brittle hardly matteredWe knew ideas were right or wrongThat only weak stones shattered Just off our banks, history flowedChanged us without our knowingWe thought we’d make a mighty splashThe river … [more]

Normalcy is an Ugly Word

“Normalcy” is that elusive quality that Pres. Reagan promised us a return to. If you’re old enough, and reasonably literate, you may recall how the term was decried by contemporary writers and pundits as a squishily semi-literate, hacked-up stand-in for the perfectly adequate (not to mention dictionarily correct) apropism, “normality.” No doubt Pres. Warren G. … [more]

Thinning

Those old giant forests, masters of wind and makers of weather, base populations for ecosystems beyond our ken, are gone now. Their final stands are reserved for the wealthy few, but adaptable humans have persuaded ourselves of the beauty found in rotted remnants.

Grow up or shut up

Blurted this out of my own key-actuated bullhorn sometime during the Obama administration, and never posted it AFAICR. Why would I have? It’s kind of mean-spirited. Now, as I find myself angrily clamoring my way through the Age of Trumpidity and a plague that much of my country would like to wish away, I realize … [more]

Time To Split: An Open Letter to Car Drivers

Traffic works better when we all work together. No man is an island, entire of itself. Therefore, ask not for whom the rider lane-splits; she splits for thee.

Dial 9/11: A Humble Christian Homily

Please open your Bibles to Matthew 13 as we read together aloud, verses nine through 16: 9 “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”  10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”  11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, … [more]

Afterburner

The age of social distancing is no country for dirty old men. He looked like someone had smacked him with a board.

Bones & Blood (a listicle)

Diary entry from near my birthday in January, 2017: As a toddler, I was startled to learn from my larger, older cousin that a kid (say, for example, a larger, older cousin) could deploy a toy truck made from six pounds of rock maple as an effective, two-armed cudgel. That was the first time I … [more]