Rest in Peace, Stretch

Stretch, like many of my cats back home, got his name when he was a nursing kitten. He would stretch out over his brother and sister to get to the nipple. His brother was Bob, because he had a bobbed tail, and his sister was Joe because compared to the two of them she was a

The Death of Rationality

One of the great spooks of my childhood was a little old lady out of Stephen King’s story “The Library Policeman” in *Four Past Midnight*. I don’t know why she’s the thing that stood out of all the disturbing material I read before I hit puberty, but she certainly did. Our basement was mostly finished.

What I’m Thinking About Today

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 pre-launch test failure that killed Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Challenger explosion, and Feb. 1st marks the Columbia disintegration. I had no idea all these dates were so close together, though fortunately the actual events were all separated

Random thoughts on impending fatherhood

We recently went to a class about taking care of newborns. While getting ready to head there I thought I should put on a nicer shirt, so I’d look more like someone who’s ready to be a dad. Like dressing slightly better is the only piece of the puzzle I’m missing right now. I’ve had

Obama and Trump have something in common

Obama and Trump are both empowering to kids. When African American children look at Obama, they finally see a president who looks like them. When all children look at Trump, they think “I’m smarter than the president of the United States.”

George Michael and Me

I was seven years old when George Michael’s Faith was released. My mom bought it on cassette and it joined the regular rotation of tapes in her Honda Civic. The music I listened to as a child was whatever my mom listened to. To that point in time I remember a lot of Air Supply

From One American to Another

I sent this email to 119 electors in states which do not require their electors to vote according to the winner of the popular vote there. Hello, I hope the holiday season is finding you well.  I sincerely apologize for bothering you, but I am reaching out as one American to another to make a

Ken Bone and the Public Predator

During last night’s debate, as soon as they announced that the next question would be from Ken Bone and I saw the man who was saddled with that handle, I had about three tweets ready to fire off. Then I paused. I realized they were just snarky observations about the incongruity between his name and

If you’re white and you don’t think there’s a problem…

I’m feeling feelings based on events in the news and I don’t really know what to do with them.  I see comments online, not so much from my own friends but from their friends on Facebook or comments on news stories (why?  why do I keep reading those?) that indicate a lot of white people

Thoughts on the fatal Tesla autopilot accident

I have some thoughts about the fatal crash of an autopiloted Tesla in Florida that occurred on Thursday.  Get caught up here.  Before I say anything about the social implications, I want to say that of course this is a tragic accident and I feel deeply for Mr. Brown’s family.  What a strange circumstance to