Last week I noticed a robin’s nest in a dogwood tree in our backyard. It’s only about seven feet off the ground and two robins vigilantly keep guard. The last few days we’ve had a series of nasty storms roll through in the blistering heat of the afternoon. One even toppled the dogwood next to the one with the nest. But still, the robins sat guard. And it made me think about birds. And how tough they are. Sure, they…
What if you could have dinner with any writer in history – how cool would that be? Who would you select? I can’t decide. Whitman’s probably too gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – I just mean that he’s almost *too* connected to things around him. He’d observe a hawk and drone on about its connectedness to his loins. I’d feel like I was in a trance. Dickinson would be fascinating, but of course she’d become fatally distracted…
As an American it’s my right to question soccer. Hell, if it weren’t for my daughter playing, I’d probably pay even less attention. But it’s hard not to be intrigued by the World Cup. So much passion. So much smack talk. All for a sport that’s as simple to play as checkers. In America, we like our sports tough, and complicated. Ever try explaining (American) football or baseball to a foreigner? I reckon the closest sport we play (other than…
I’m really good at what I do, but I’m not a businessperson. I’m a writer. That’s the only control I have. It’s my only way out.
The last day of school is something all kids remember. Grown ups, not so much.
Reaching backwards is hard. I recently started writing a book called Four Fathers, based (loosely in some spots, tightly in others) on the four men that influenced the man I am today. They are my biological father, to whom I was Junior; my step father, who gave me a new name; my wife’s father, who disappeared after her conception; and my wife’s stepfather, who gave her a new name. In writing the first chapter, I noticed that I couldn’t just…
