Archive 2000-2009

Give Me a Brand Name

“Give me a brand name!” cried the shirt. It hung on a discount rack outside of a clothing store, drooping…

What I’ve Learned from My Piano

My piano is out of tune. We’ve had it in our family for 50 years and I’ve never heard it…

Melbourne

I go to the National Gallery of Victoria (the state Melbourne’s in) and see this Picasso painting called Weeping Woman.…

Hate room

And I have to sit here in my hate room. You said there was an energy here that was more…

Touchdown in Australia

After 17 hours on airplanes I arrive in Melbourne on May 31, 2007. Two hours later I make it to…

Lesbian? Lesbian!

A woman I work with, let’s call her Sally, has a son who got a divorce. One day the ex-wife…

Berastagi, Sumatra, Indonesia

The trip to Berastagi is a bumpy, winding, vomit-smelling bus ride (children and old people puking out the windows behind…

Crop Dusters and Their Effects on Limbs

A crop-dusting plane sits in my living room talking to my arms. “I have a secret,” the plane whispers to…

North Sumatra

Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world, and anyone visiting it quickly realizes that they must often severely…

Why I buy my own books

I was in 6th grade I discovered the books of Piers Anthony in my school library. He wrote the popular…

Bad Brains

In the middle of his head hung his problem, his enormous dilemma, the way a comforter is a giant to…

Weighted

The pressing started in my head, in a place it seemed I shouldn’t be able to feel. The very center…

German retro pullover

The threads are like barbed wire on my skin, course wool grating against my body, clawing at my flesh like…

Running!

Stop to kick over the chairs, and then you’re running! Running! Running! If only a magnet would be powerful enough…

Giant Thumb

I watched a giant thumb inch its way across my lawn. When it got to my house it went upright…

Cleaning

When I woke up I fixed the leaking faucet in the bathroom. Then I scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom clean.…

A Tangible Effort

Twenty people clung to the rope stretched over the bubbling volcano. “Shout!” said one. “Scream!” said another. But no one…

Becoming a Current

The bus stop was made up of a single sign reading “City Bus Stop” and three cement blocks for benches.…

Truant

“Truant!” she screamed down the hall, chasing after him. She breathed heavily. “You truant bastard!”

And On To The Omnipotent!

And on to the omnipotent! A whistling fear flying past me, pushing the air around it so that it shuffles…

An Old Machine

A worn out machine sat in a brown leather recliner watching a video discussing the future possibilities of human bionics.…

Bald Ridge

In my last post I mentioned that I was having a “gently relaxing” time in the bush. That changes when…

The movie reel

I once saw an old movie reel in a trash can. The projector wasn’t there, just the reel which you’d…

Arriving in Bald Ridge

My parents are both high school teachers. My dad taught a girl, Dawne, who married an Australian, Rick, and has…

The Time of Day

When could this have happened? Shattered glass covered the floor of the business, little diamonds sparkling on the concrete tile.…

A Rocking Chair from Germany

He sat in the rocking chair, and it brought him comfort. A soda sat between his legs chilling his crotch…

Black Cat Haiku

Driving on a road.A black cat still looks alive(it’s almost breathing).

Change

It wasn’t until a few months ago that I realized I needed a change. I started small: instead of having…

500 Bakeries

500 bakeries line the street north of my house. A doughnut. Fried bread. That’s all I wanted. The first one…

Cold Cold Blood

Someone lit a match in his chest, right below his heart. His heart blistered where the flame touched it, but…

When I Found a Body

When a vehicle travels along the road white dust kicks up in swirls behind it leaving giant clouds in its…

Summer Snowstorm

The corn had been bad as it sat on the supermarket shelf — ready to be sold — but she…

Chateau Chenonceau, France

This castle is described as Chateau des Dames, the ladies castle, because women have most influenced its design and destiny. Mini watercolor…

The Most Beautiful Girl

I sat on a bench at the corner of Lincoln Street and Bailey looking at her from across the street.…

Muay Thai

Muay Thai boxing is the national sport of Thailand, but it’s practiced all over the world. Opponents can use hands,…

I dream in red

Standing up and beating himself he felt better. It never changed anything. A couple of times he had beaten himself…

Indonesian Traffic Rules

It’s been a long, hot day in Indonesia and I’m afraid I simply cannot write an interesting blog about the…

Syrup Spill

My fingers are sticky with syrup. I try frantically to collect the spilled liquid covering the floor, gathering it up…

A Taste for Music

My family exposed me to so much music that other kids my age weren’t listening to. By the end of 5th…

How I Learned to Swear

I’m sitting on a toilet at my office. My tongue tastes vaguely like a salt lick right now. I know…

Adelaide and Sydney

Sydney is a great place to read a Dickens novel: it’s rainy right now all the time, and if it’s…

A Shower in the Mountains

Thunder is rolling like rocks on gravel, and as I write this the first few drops have begun to fall…

Rock puppets

Most people thought he was either stupid or crazy. They’d watch him for a few seconds, then shake their heads…

The Bridge

I watch your car drive off the bridge from the riverbank. The dogs are barking from the fence and some…

Ubud, Bali

I have my first massage in Ubud. I’ve only had one other massage, in Texas, and I must say I…

Wallpaper Flowers

Grinning I tear the wallpaper down. Flowers all over it. White flowers and red flowers pink flowers. I tear them…

Cigars Made by Hand

Made by Hand made a short series of videos celebrating the art of doing things by hand. This is their…

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