We had come so close. We rationed proteins, we doled out water in scant mouthfuls. If we were careful, there would be just enough. Then we ran out of fuel. Outside, a blue-green world rotates tantalizingly out of reach. I lick my dry lips and send another mayday.
Last week, I was sparring a black belt in Taekwon-do. Let me first say, sparring is the thing I find most intimidating about the sport. I like practicing forms, I like breaking boards and kicking bags, but facing another person? A person who is unpredictable and fast and (presumably) kind and not actually intending me … Continue reading Sijak
The best Christmas song out there is Brenda Lee's I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus, and I know just why, because: This song is a social justice anthem. Think about: it's pretty much impossible to escape Christmas music around the holidays, whether or not you celebrate. From old classics like The Christmas Song to newer ones—Mariah … Continue reading Have yourself a merry little everything
Every year, it's my job to pick the perfect Christmas tree. And every year for the past fifteen or more, we go to the Red Shed, a family-owned outdoor tree lot that pops up around Thanksgiving at 18th and Burnside, in the heart of the inner east side. Some years we take the kids; some … Continue reading The perfect tree
It is nearly light and I have not slept. Pine boughs scrape the windowpanes. “Stay,” she murmurs when I stir, but the name she whispers is not mine. She drifts in and out, clutching the covers to her chest. Frost limns the window, and yet I lie here and burn.
