I don’t even know what to call it. A board? A plank? A tabletop? None of these do it justice. None implies the shear heft of this chunk of wood. I found it early on, exploring my new neighborhood, looking for idiosyncrasies or treasures in the alleyway behind my house, a hidden thoroughfare whose primary … Continue reading Treasure
Washington DC
Crows
Crows in Australia go Vrark. Or so I hear. I keep writing about crows, and given the international nature of WordPress, it’s natural to get a global perspective. I heard this Vrark description from two sources. Both are bloggers who live in Melbourne. In a conversation with David W Don contrasting my small-town experience living … Continue reading Crows
9/11 is old enough to drink
9/11 is old enough to drink. 9/11 is an adult—if twenty-one is actually an adult. Sophie can’t rent a car until she’s twenty-five. Kids can stay on their parent’s medical insurance until they turn twenty-six. My own adolescence didn’t end until I turned thirty-three. So maybe not quite an adult yet, but yes, old enough … Continue reading 9/11 is old enough to drink
Ode to Suburbia
♫ My sister got lucky, married a yuppie, took him for all he was worth... ♫ --Lyrics from “Yer So Bad” by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne “This is suburban music, right Jeff?” Maria, denigrating my friends from Virginia. We stood immersed in a din of drinkers shouting over, or singing along with the album … Continue reading Ode to Suburbia
Brood X
The entomologists call them Brood X—the United States' east coast seventeen-year cicadas. The name appeals to me, reminiscent of a late-seventies punk band. Each generation emerges from deep underground, molts, mates, lays eggs and then dies. Their path to sexual maturity extending longer than even humans. Their bizarre life-span leaves them without an obvious predator. … Continue reading Brood X
Reality Check
In 1995, I was hit by a car. That’s what people say, “I was hit by a car.” In my case, it isn’t accurate. A car was hit by me. A minivan actually. Every morning I saw myself as a bike-commute warrior. Or maybe an urban mountain biker. I traded seamlessly from bike path to … Continue reading Reality Check
Mission Accomplished?
Irony makes me smile. Tomorrow, I drive to Gaithersburg, Maryland, maybe eight miles from where I grew up, to complete my transformation into a Pennsylvanian. We’re going there to look at a pickup truck. I moved to Pennsylvania fifteen years ago looking for an escape from urban life. Although, my childhood in Rockville, Maryland could … Continue reading Mission Accomplished?
In Search Of…
Halloween. Seventy-some degrees, tornado warning, driving sheets of rain. When Susan picked me up from work, she told me they cancelled Halloween. No, I don’t know who ‘they’ are. And I don’t know how they can cancel an international holiday. “Great,” I said, “are they going to cancel Christmas if it snows?” Suddenly I have … Continue reading In Search Of…
The Other Stuff 