Jul 30On Women: At Los Alamos, Onscreen, and Everywhere Else“We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they’ve come.” -Barbie movie, 2023 “Well, it just wouldn’t be authentic,” she says, as if that settles things. It makes my porcupine quills bristle and they threaten to stand on end. But we are having a…Nonfiction7 min readNonfiction7 min read
Jul 25Return to TerabithiaFor years, I’d avoided it, assumed that this was just one of those gaps in my memory that was meant to be there. Also I remember hating the ending — the plot and characters lost to me, but the visceral, nauseating wrongeness of the ending stuck with me all these…Creative Writing7 min readCreative Writing7 min read
Jul 2Tribe/TimeNB: This story includes outdated language for Indigenous people. I’ve addressed that usage in the story itself, but I thought I’d just let you know in advance. You can hear it, the distinctive crack the ball makes when it meets the bat in exactly the right spot. When it happens…Baseball10 min readBaseball10 min read
Jun 23Calculated Risk“There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” — Frank Wilhoit I consider the safety placard on the wall inside the elevator this windowless metallic tube going down, down, down to the parking garage. I wonder…Titanic2 min readTitanic2 min read
Apr 30If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is’.” -Kurt Vonnegut I’ve made it just in time today. I get out of the car and stand in the parking lot…Creative Writing5 min readCreative Writing5 min read
Apr 2Home PlaceWhen I think about home, I’m not thinking about the sprawling suburb that contained my last address, although that’s what people are usually asking. I know what they mean, so I say, “Toledo” if they’re American, “Detroit” if I think they’ve visited, and “The U.S., near Canada” if I think…Nonfiction8 min readNonfiction8 min read
Mar 26When I finally recognize it for what it is, I sit up with a start.When I finally recognize it for what it is, I sit up with a start. I feel. . . good? Can that be? I’ve spent the last few weeks scanning for rumbles of pain before making a compromise with myself: Self, I’ve been saying, you still have two hours of…Creative Nonfiction5 min readCreative Nonfiction5 min read
Mar 21diet tribeShe seemed nice, maybe a little distracted, as I settled onto the paper-covered chair. I felt the first twinge of today’s migraine rumble beneath my right eyelid. The appointment was nothing special, although after awhile they all start to run together. That is, until I started time-travelling from right there…Creative Nonfiction8 min readCreative Nonfiction8 min read
Dec 12, 2021Midnight MassWe’ve gone back and forth about the Christmas tree. Mom isn’t sure we need a big one, that it will be one more thing to organize and store, and one day sell or ship to whichever new zip code we decide is home. I am in line to buy said…Christmas5 min readChristmas5 min read
Nov 1, 2021New York State of MindYou know, it’s funny. Growing up, NYU was my dream school. The pipe dream. The one I could *maybe* get into, but could never afford. The one that, even if I could afford, I’d never be able to attend because I had so much transfer credit. Still, it was nice…Nonfiction4 min readNonfiction4 min read
