Category Archives: Uncategorized

The 1619 Project, Missoura Style The Missouri House is about to pass an amendment banning the teaching of the New York Times 1619 Project. The ban will include any curriculum that “identifies people, entities, or institutions as inherently, immutably, or … Continue reading →

“Exterminate all the Brutes” I received a good education at my high school. I learned to read, to think, to write, to act, to speak German (well, I can count to one hundred—sorry, Miss Tomlovic), to sing. All of which … Continue reading →

Stillsong A piliated woodpecker jackhammers at a dead tree. No amount of explanation, of how the bird does this without killing itself or smashing its skull, will suffice. And there is the visual, the model for Woody Woodpecker, the bright … Continue reading →

G. Gordon Liddy, the Watergate burglary mastermind, has descended into Hell. From the New York Underworld Times: “G. Gordon Liddy has joined the billions of Evil Ones who preceded him in life. “Liddy was greeted with a tickertape parade with … Continue reading →

We are a fivesome. Me, Girl who is ten, my father, his friend Man and Man’s Son. It is night. There are no lights, but we see in the dark. Father and Man and Son have their own golfclubs and … Continue reading →

Dear Charlie, It has only been a month since you died. We all miss you very much. Sheila and Lorenzo and Don and Harold and Paul send their love. I thought I would catch you up, as I need to … Continue reading →

A two-story house in Chicago. My sister rocks in a wooden rocker, clicking her knitting needles but knitting nothing, chews on her cheek. She watches me. A plump young woman walks in from the kitchen, runs toward me with open … Continue reading →

Stillness, Saturday afternoon, the river was still and the sky. Even the creeks were still, and a lone old man sitting on a bench, paunch-bellied and bald and sporting a Santa Claus beard, glared at me wordlessly when I wished … Continue reading →

Dear Mr. Baldwin,     We have received your application to replace Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. While we laughed at your comment, “My left testicle is smarter than Betsy DeVos,” other aspects of your resume troubled us.   … Continue reading →