Yellow Dog’s Ears

Pretty Wife and I were helping clean out a storage unit for beloved stepdad Paul when two sheets, one “NLQ” pin-printed in faded ink and the other handwritten, fluttered out of a box full of things to throw away. The ball point page is in my readily identifiable hand printing; the dot matrix page has … [more]

Worship Praxis

Do what is right and true shall be the whole of the law.

Whiteout

It’s held its color well, probably because it was an early shot in the fully artificial fabric wars. Ring-spun, so it’s breathable and doesn’t stick to me on a hot day like the seat cover from a 1960s sedan, the chest of it is proudly bespangled with the logo of a school I went to … [more]

To My Dear Children

…on the dangerous idea of love. Terrifying as it may sound, I implore each of you to open your hearts and love someone, some animal, some machine, some experience, some moment. Know that it will fade. People will disappoint you; beloved pets will die on your watch; history may bend toward justice but it degenerates, … [more]

Cheers, kid!

Dear Cougster: I don’t know what to tell young adults about their 21st birthdays, other than “don’t expect too much.” Like New Year’s Eve or bachelor parties, it’s often an occasion more gleefully anticipated than fondly remembered. Basically, if you get through it without hurting yourself too badly, scrawl it loopily into the “win” column … [more]

Seeing My Girls

Never wonder whether I hold guilt over it; the answer is always, inevitably that I have guilt about all of it.

Borrowed Valor

It’s a joke and a cliché and the truest thing you’ll ever hear from us: “You weren’t there, man.”

Happy Memorial Day

I’m not going this year. Down in the valley, valley so low, hang your head over and hear the wind blow across Tahoma, the nearest national cemetery where a friend I failed to meet lies under the green, green grass near home, no longer waiting for anyone. His family will go there today, regardless of … [more]