Category Archives: identity

Sunday’s flattened head

Posted on January 20, 2019 by

On the five-hour drive to Brad’s cabin I kept it cool in the car to stay awake, to keep my cold tolerance up. Driving across the state to the east, how it all flattens to farmlands and big skies, windmills, … Continue reading →

Posted in identity, Memoir, writing | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

The day I turned purple (2019)

Posted on January 12, 2019 by

After 10 days without drinking, the swelling in my lower gut finally went down. A balloon losing air. On Monday I was offered a new job, and on Friday I turned in my laptop and said goodbye. The January bugs … Continue reading →

Posted in identity, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , | 28 Comments

On Sundays and holidays

Posted on December 30, 2018 by

We spent the aftermath of Christmas on Whidbey island, a town called Langley, so idyllic they still have phone booths with free local calls, wild bunnies, signs in the shop windows promoting inclusion, views of the water, a bell to … Continue reading →

Posted in identity, Memoir, prose, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

It could nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives

Posted on December 25, 2018 by

I went back to a small box of memories from 1986, a cassette I bought and the Sony Walkman I played it on wearing a second-hand coat and buying my first pack of cigarettes, walking the hillsides and small neighborhoods … Continue reading →

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The corrections

Posted on November 20, 2018 by

No matter how much I worried I was growing apart from my kids (or vice versa), there was still time. I picked Charlotte up after work and asked where she wanted to go for dinner. We drove to Issaquah and … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, identity, parenting | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

The same deep water as you

Posted on October 27, 2018 by

We went back to the old elementary school, Charlotte’s last year, for the annual Halloween bash. Dawn and I stood in the playground feeling tired and out of sorts, trying to make out the identities of kids running by as … Continue reading →

Posted in identity, Memoir, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

‘Cuts you up’

Posted on October 2, 2018 by

Lily (who now goes by Lee) and I drove to the Teanaway river valley on the east side of the Cascades, stopping at a Safeway in the small town of Cle Elum for junk food. I didn’t bring the guts … Continue reading →

Posted in identity, Memoir, parenting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments