Steady. She props her left elbow on the desk and nestles the base of her palm beneath her lip. The black liner glimmers and dries almost immediately. She turns her head to check her work and then puts the pen…

The constant edges of decisions scrape inside my mind. It feels like we're on a train in a pitch dark tunnel, going along, going along, going along the track. Where are we going? I hate that other girl you listen…

On Sunday, my friend Jewel and I went on an adventure to the Oregon coast. She offered to drive. She also has a cute, small car, but much newer than my 2007 Toyota Corolla, now forever dubbed the "Mario Kart…

Sometime around fifty years ago, I gave some coins to a gypsy in the South of France. She told me that I was going to get some very odd invitation to travel somewhere that I had never thought of and…

[Amelia's story continues] I decide to check in with my current flirt. Raul's back in bed after our walk so I can slip out without him giving me that pitiful "need a walk" look. The sun nearly blinds me as…

Most important decisions should not be sharp- edged: black or white….evil or good….straight up or straight down- most of life’s journey is rounded out into grey areas so infinitely layered, so packed full of nuance and possibility, that, finally, honestly,…

A politician wrestled two snakes on a rooftop in Washington, DC today, in front of cameras. He’s a nutcase anyway and the snakes looked to be garter snakes. They bite, and they did bite him, but their bite is only…

I miss Stevie’s voice – he was a wonderful singer, and ever since he was born, his voice has always stood out among the others in any situation. Even in the delivery room, the doctor who delivered Stevie said, “Wow,…

I insisted Jana visit Raul [a dog], which meant she was coming to my place, which meant she would see the humble abode I call home for me and the dog. The apartment was a huge score when I found…

"It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's…

The hot air swarms my ankles, face, neck as I step out of the car and twist myself toward the pump. It's permanently greasy, as it should be, and the buttons all work but I'm skeptical. The man ahead me…

Yes, we have- a big old spacious three- story house, and in a few days we shall permanently move there. Michigan, of all places! Michigan. When I moved from NYC to San Francisco 15 years ago, I tossed my worn…