March 28th, 2023 It’s weird, because yesterday’s school shooting was supposed to be a heavy day for our country, but nearly every day is heavy with the same weight, like a wet blanket at the bottom of a swimming pool, so yesterday was just a normal day. This is our normal. I wrote an essayContinue reading “Maybe I’m Wrong, Part II”
Tag Archives: Listening
Maybe I’m Wrong
March 25th, 2023 This is an essay about grief and, out of respect, I have to preface it with a spoiler warning for John Wick 4. It’s only a line of dialogue, but it’s what got me thinking about this in the first place, and if you don’t want a frame of the new filmContinue reading “Maybe I’m Wrong”
Honk If You Hate Me
March 20th, 2023 I’ve been thinking a lot about bumper stickers. I’ve written several times about why folks are more passionate than ever about politics. People are not more political; politics have become less about politics. I have a tremendously annoying habit of trying to understand things. When someone is telling me a story inContinue reading “Honk If You Hate Me”
String Theory
February 15th, 2023 I often have to repeat to myself that the world isn’t more tragic; we are just made more aware of all the tragedies. And tragedy becomes a kind of string we wear around our finger. I have extended family who are going through a personal tragedy right now, losing their father, myContinue reading “String Theory”
Popina Academia
January 15th, 2023 After a very eventful and exhausting week, I wanted to get back to the January theme of Origins. This essay asks: how has working in a restaurant for most of my life affected me as a writer? Let’s start with my restaurant history. Growing up in Faribault, I worked as a cornContinue reading “Popina Academia”
The Troll Toll
December 15th, 2022 The history of philosophy is a history of trolls. The 1975 is one of my favorite bands (and my absolute favorite band most days). We saw them play at The Armory last night and it was quite possibly the best show I have ever seen. Like TikTok itself, I am obsessed withContinue reading “The Troll Toll”
R-E-S-SOBRIETY
December 11th, 2022 Okay, this is both an appreciation post for the best co-workers ever (look at this effing cake!) and a passive-aggressive reminder of what you, a normal person, can do for the sober people in your life. When people decide to get sober, it is often daunting and overwhelming. Every solid decision splintersContinue reading “R-E-S-SOBRIETY”
V
December 9th, 2022 You were this close to living in a Dennis-less world. That’s one of the parts of my past we don’t talk much about. I’m not saying it would have been a better place or worse place, but it definitely would have been a different one. Today marks five years since I tookContinue reading “V”
The Language of Darkness
November 25th, 2022 There’s something you feel when someone ends their own life that feels either unnatural or completely understandable. It’s something I’ve explored a lot, in essays like these, and in fictional characters like Liam, in the book Push, and Axis in The Weirdos. I had the realization that I had said unnatural orContinue reading “The Language of Darkness”
Grace
November 23rd, 2022 I love this time of year, because I live for times when light and dark are mutually strongest. The holidays can be f—ing tough. Talking to others around a table, especially those who see the world differently than you do, can be extremely sensitive and difficult. Kirsten Powers on Substack sent theContinue reading “Grace”
The Den 