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Duct Tape Obelisk 2
I wrote about the duct-taped obelisk, subsequently restored, last fall (Duct Tape Obelisk). It’s real—or it was—and it gave me a springboard or an excuse or a pretext to think about birthdays in cemeteries and restoration and rebellion and loss. Some of which made it into a short story, “Give that Girl a Wilson Cigar!”,…
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Duct Tape Obelisk
There’s a cemetery I sometimes walk through on my way to work, or on my way home. They’re mostly historic graves, though I think interments still take place from time to time. It’s quiet, with tall trees, a little poison oak, a caretaker’s trailer, and cigarette butts ankle deep at the entrance closest to campus,…
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Walking the West Highland Way
Having enjoyed and endured twenty-five years of each other’s company in marriage, we thought it was time for a treat and rewarded ourselves with a trip to Scotland and a walk on the West Highland Way with our kids. I wanted one of those luxurious hikes where you spend the night at a cozy inn…
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What I’m Reading (mid-April)
April is the month of deadlines, of personnel reviews, of conference papers coming due, all of which a good book to come home to of an evening all the more important, even if I find myself reading in ten- or twelve-minute bursts. What I’m now reading, or what I just finished: Angélica Gorodischer’s Fábula de…
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Boxed Set, part II–memory stories in and out of the box
Literal Latté‘s spring 2015 issue is up–and with it my story, “Cloud Seeding in the Andes,” beautifully illustrated by Joseba Elorza. Coincidentally, today also marks 35 years since we returned to the US from that first trip to Ecuador–first for me, first that counts in memory–the trip that has served as springboard (nest, epicenter, scaffolding, excuse) for…
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Boxed set (stories in waiting)
Somewhere at the bottom of this stack of boxes is a stack of notebooks, detailed journals from trips to Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru. I know there are stories in them, waiting to be retrieved, rewound, reworded. Deciphered–I never won a penmanship prize. Embarrassing stories and clever observations and little aha! triumphs. I count them as…
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5th annual Wine and Words–with a contest!
This will be the fifth year I’ve helped to organize a Wine and Words tasting at Winter’s Hill Estate. I’ve written here before about the fun of reading aloud, and listening to others. Back in February 2011, no less, with Tasting Notes after our first event. This year’s word flights will include fiction, poetry, translation, and–for…
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The Long Run
Today was my long run of the week and, being a big fan of efficiency, I thought I’d write a thoughtful little essay about the meaning or effects of the 12-mile run, or the insights arrived at thereby. But running 12 miles makes me feel accomplished and pleased with myself (yay), tired (predictable), and also…