Tough love
I never got the chance to see my grandmother outside the nursing home. Never saw her standing up outside the confines of the metal bed rails. Never said good bye…
How to Pick a Mulberry
Steven, Holly and me enjoying the simpler times. How to Pick a Mulberry The first thing you have to do is to be bored. Very, bored. It has to be…
Dog Years
This month, my dog Sailor turns twelve years old. Throughout his life, we’ve done our best to spoil him with memory foam dog beds, three-foot-long rawhides and even paying a…
The Field
Last year we built our forever home overlooking the seven-acre field that has been in my family since before I was born. To the world, it's nothing special, just a…
The Perfect Car
Cars have never been a true love of mine. But if I were to write my family’s story, I would divide the chapters by whatever was parked in the driveway. …
Surf Lessons
When we left Chile, I planned to leave the surfboard behind. My friend Cole talked me into keeping it. “Come on man,” he said, “You might want to try surfing…
You’re Never too Tough to Call Your Mamma
There were two payphones on each side of Kodiak Harbor. One was in front of the oldest licensed bar in Kodiak, the B and B. The other, was in front…
The Visitation
The visitation was scheduled to start at two o’clock. By then, the parking lot was full. I found a spot along the back row, facing the cemetery. The invisible drizzle…
Toby Keith and a Baked Potato
Thirty kids were asked to come back for the final night of seventh-grade basketball tryouts. Of those who had made it past the first cut, I was one of the…
Beach Story
I kneeled down beside an old Hawaiian woman with nicotine stained teeth. As she took a long drag from a hand-rolled cigarette, her cheeks disappeared into two dime-sized sinkholes. I…