American Literacy

In the bookstore today, I dutifully reported to the display shelf adjacent to U.S. History, where I regularly check to see if our well-written, scrupulously edited, glowingly reviewed and woefully undersold anthology Operation Homecoming is still on offer. I did not find it there. The display of writing on our military experiences in Iraq and … [more]

Sorta Mad Sunday

The story you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the goofy. Once a year, I wheedle Pretty Wife into letting me ride the Isle of Vashon TT, a bumptious fundraiser for the VME (Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts, which you should join, Loyal Reader, if only to be annually apprised … [more]

Mad Dogs and Fear Biters

I’m not sure how to say this, other than simply and clearly. An attack on gay Americans is an attack on all Americans. An attack on Muslim Americans is an attack on all Americans’ religious liberty. Attacking a Latinx dance party assaults every American’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of beats. Attacking gun culture … [more]

In Memorium

A simple whispered lesson from those who laid down their lives for us.

Painting by the numbers

“__________ is just a number.” Is it, really? Only that? When you’re painting by the numbers, the colors aren’t your own. The amount of weight you lifted ten years ago (or last week): that’s just a number. It means nothing to you now. The amount you lift today is a piece of your life as it … [more]

Not Really About Motorcycles

I only knew “T” because of motorcycles. When we moved in, the guy across the street introduced himself and asked what we had under our bike covers. Tony turned out to be one of the good guys, loaning tools without being asked and even putting us up in his RV for a couple of nights when … [more]

Word of the Day

glibiot glibiot (n.) glib-i-ot /glibēət/ A person who foolishly believes their own stylish pronouncements, to the detriment of themselves and society. Ex. That glibiot believes that voting doesn’t matter.  

A 9/11 Forget Me Not

In a word, “no.” This day – one that will live in a lesser infamy than Pearl Harbor, as a time when our self-declared enemies intentionally selected non-military primary targets to show us our vulnerabilities and terrify those willing to be cowed – will not define me. It will not rule me by fear. It … [more]