I remember standing to attention for the first time in the gymnasium at the Joe R. Hooper USARC in Bothell, and feeling like an absolute fraud. Then I followed the young guys back into the supply room cages, where smells of rubber and oil and brass pervaded, and remembered… This is what soldiering smells like… … [more]
For Whom the Liberty Bell Tolls (or: Brief Thoughts on Crossing the Border on a Motorcycle)
19-September-2011 by 3 Comments
I am an American, and this means certain things. As an American, I will say what I want, when I want, to whom I want. If you find my speech upsetting or disgusting, dangerous or irresponsible or even un-American, that’s your problem. I’m an American. I say what I want. I have the right to … [more]
Something Wicked
9-August-2011 by 6 Comments
I woke up happy this morning, secure on a sunny summer morning as a citizen of the world’s sole superpower, next to my sweet wife. We were thinking about a little shakedown trip on the bikes. Pretty Wife’s little BMW has new shoes, and my ankle and knee are still unsteady, but the prospect of … [more]
Portland rocks!
21-July-2011 by 1 Comment
So that was refreshing to hear… Pretty Publisher informs me that Litsam has successfully placed Nothing In Reserve at Powell’s Books. Powell’s is a particular fetish I share with millions of Portlanders, former Portlanders, imPorted landers and people who only wish they were hip enough to sashay through the Pearl District, but find it too … [more]
In Memoriam
27-May-2011 by 4 Comments
Fair warning: politics ahead. Outrage imminent. Abort! Abort! …or pick up your coffee and join me in a little thought experiment (for those looking for a calmer introspection on Memorial Day, there is this item in the P-I, written before I read this morning’s news). The only guarantee in this little thought experiment is that … [more]
Books! Brownies! Motorcycles!
17-May-2011 by Leave a Comment
So let’s see… ticking off a few of my favorite things: reading, writing, riding and BSing with soldiers. It’s a quadrafecta! Yeah, I made that word up — sadly, that’s another favorite vice. So here’s what we’re up to: South Sound BMW, one of the juiciest motorcycle dealerships in the PNW, holds its annual Vendor … [more]
Not a Federal Holiday
2-May-2011 by 2 Comments
We weren’t watching the news when they dropped him. We were out getting our hands dirty. We had a pipe to fix in the backyard. Should have taken care of it years ago, but there are all those pesky tactical considerations. Like geopolitics, remodeling is a complicated form of continual crisis management. Agenda items rise … [more]
Humbly submitted…
24-April-2011 by Leave a Comment
So there’s this book, and we’ve been tinkering with it, trying to get it all just so. Is it perfect? Of course not. Not by a long, arcing shot. There are typographical errors in the text. There are flaws in the formatting. The only thing that keeps either me or Pretty Publisher from spiking the … [more]
"Jack Lewis takes the overall literary crown with his new book...there’s a lot more to Lewis’s work than what it feels like to ride motorcycles.” — Ultimate Motorcycling
"Insightful and from the heart ... a driven and much recommended look into the mind and conflict of the next generation of war veterans. " — Midwest Book Review (Reviewer's Choice)