Heartland Driving is Good for the Soul

If you are feeling down, or housebound or just uninspired, there are few better salves than a drive. First, put on comfortable pants. Then get in the car and drive to the nearest highway. Choose any direction; it usually doesn’t matter. Set your cruise control to 65. After a few minutes, the right angles of […]

The Last Word

April 16-20 For much of the country, spring warmth is too long in coming this year. Much too long. But we are well past the equinox and the days are getting longer, and that means the running and buzzing and frolicking is under way. Some of the heightened activity means animals are getting busy, Ann […]

We Did Not Go Back to the Moon, Because It Is Hard

Saturday, March 31, was kind of a big day for the moon. It was full for the second time this month, making it a blue moon — the second of 2018. It was also the first full moon after the spring equinox, what’s known as the Paschal moon. The first Sunday after such a moon […]

A Vocabulary for the Almost-Disappeared

“Look, our snowman is still there,” I said Monday morning. “Oh!” my daughter said. “It is! Mommy, will it be there for all the times?” I picked her up. “No, it won’t,” I said. “I think it will melt. Remember how we talked about snow melting?” “Oh,” my 3-year-old said. “Okay.” Her disappointment was audible. I […]

The Joyful Communal Companions of Chile

I believe in a heaven for all dogdom where my dog waits for my arrival waving his fan-like tail in friendship. ~ Pablo Neruda When you land in Chile, the first thing you notice is the color of the sky. An easier thing to describe is the second thing you notice: The dogs. The country […]

Defending Government-Subsidized Performance Art

The other day, a giant rocket riding a triple tower of fire lifted a rich guy’s car into space and on to the asteroid belt. You probably heard about this, if you have access to the internet or a newspaper. It was the coolest thing you have seen in a long time, or the most […]

Pilgrims At the Factory That Could Destroy the World

On the first Monday of the month, at 11 a.m. sharp, my community fires up the tornado sirens. Their wailing echoes down the streets, screams among the trees, bounces off the granite side of the church on the corner, and annoys the hell out of my dog. After about 45 seconds — that is a […]

A Ghost Story From the Desert

There are certain places in our country that are known for storytelling, the cowboy poet said to us. From New Orleans Cajun country to Lake Wobegon, a few small, distinctive regions — not New York, and definitely not Washington — have become known for their storytelling styles, and for their stories. “Western stories are the […]