My Grandfather’s Face
Urban shoppers might walk away from farmers’ markets in the rural area where I grew up. There’s nothing exotic among the produce displayed. Tomatoes look like those ripening on a backyard vine. A dozen...
View ArticleComplex Joy
The future promises only its best on this night and the past reminds us of what was good. There is joy.
View ArticleAldo Leopold Weekend
March 4, 2017, sixty-nine years after Aldo Leopold penned his final contribution to A Sand County Almanac, a marathon reading of his work begins in a small building called The Schoolhouse in the...
View ArticleMore Baby Goats!
What we need on social media and television now are more baby goats in pajamas, more baby otters nursing from tiny bottles, ducklings climbing out of fountains. More emotional cowbells to cover...
View ArticleOf What We Remember
There have always been divisions in this large nation. What do we remember on Memorial Day?
View ArticleRedemption
I’ve been revising a story about a military drone designer’s gradual decision to leave his job. Themes of redemption play through the second half of the narrative. Rē’ dem(p)SH(e)n/ noun the action of...
View ArticleThe Gardens Change
Queen Anne’s Lace plants too late to blossom wave dried pods in meadows and along roads. More Goldenrod become dull amid remaining greenery. Creeping vine leaves are tinged with brown, exposing dead...
View ArticleWords from War
Watching documentaries and reading military history stripped away some of my naivete.I have learned just enough: to pray frequently that those I love not experience life in a war zone and to wonder...
View ArticleAfter the Battle
Surviving war does not equate to a free ticket home. COVID-19 is like a world war with every country fighting unique battles to beat a largely invisible enemy.
View ArticlePermanent Marker
Spring through fall events are written in permanent marker on our calendars before Easter. Until this year. A rough schedule is on my desk with April and May crossed off. The calendar remains blank.
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