I was at the pharmacy the other day, waiting for my flu shot, when I spotted a book called Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World. It was written by a retired U.S. Navy Admiral. In his tongue in cheek synopsis of the book at the Guardian, John Crace […]
Christie
This post originally ran on November 11, 2014. It’s 6 am on an early November morning, and I am tiptoeing up a juniper hillside with a rifle slung over my shoulder. I’m following Adam, my friend and guide, when suddenly he stops. “Listen.” It’s still completely dark, except for the sea of stars above us, […]
* It’s October, which means pink ribbons everywhere you turn. These breast cancer awareness campaigns can be hopeful and empowering, but they can also be deceptive and unscientific and can mask the realities of what it means to live with cancer. Catherine Guthrie’s new memoir, FLAT: Reclaiming My Body From Breast Cancer offers […]
The end of summer is always a little sad, but this year it felt especially so. During the last three days of August, three people I care about died unexpectedly. I want to tell you about one of them. Ed Marston died of complications from West Nile virus on August 31. The last time I saw […]
Damn, where did the summer go? I’m off this week to enjoy the last of it, and I hope you’ll take some time away from the internet too. But since you’re here, please enjoy this spoetry, courtesy of LWON’s spammers. It’s commenter appreciation day here at Last Word on Nothing. If you’ve ever wondered why […]
The news that Aretha Franklin is gravely ill hit me like a punch in the gut. I’m not sure I realized it until that moment, but she provided an important anthem for my teenage years. Decades later, I can still remember how my high school girls track team would blast Franklin’s rendition of “Respect” on […]
For as long as I could read, I have started my day with the morning newspaper. I’ve had a subscription to a printed daily newspaper, and oftentimes two, for all of my adult life. It was a sad day at my house when the Denver Post stopped delivering to our part of Western Colorado in […]
Sorting through photos from our motion-triggered game camera reminds me a lot of field work. For every target animal you’re seeking, you end up looking at a lot of deer. So when I recently discovered a creature that I couldn’t immediately identify in our roll of game cam photos, I was thrilled.