A mountain casts one oblong shadow dark enough to feel smothering. To approach it sends long fingers of nerve down the spine. Every step in procession breeds anxiety. The mind becomes defensive, In a way, the darkness feels pleasant once it’s gotten used to. It’s like a warm and heavy blanket. To climb up and […]
Category: Skarface
Paradise Apocalypse
Chaos swirls like an invisible current around us. Weather no longer sits on the throne of the small-talk kingdom. Coronavirus passes between ears with far more frequency. Forget last night’s bout of thunder, did you hear how many people died in New York? Nervous speculation replaces the default cheeriness of midwestern life. No end in […]
Letting it Go
I remember I was 19 years old and looking at myself in the mirror. Staring at the girl that stared back. Hating everything I saw there. My face. Way too round and puffy. Where were the angles of cheekbones, the sharp jawline, I wondered. My eyes. Too small, too dewy and exhausted-looking. I hated that […]
Flight Paths
Humanity’s great stories use the recurring motif of destiny as plot’s major driver. The main characters start as young and green to their surroundings. They are struck by divine purpose meant to push them towards realizing their true calling. These protagonists become heroes because they fulfill missions assigned to them. Harry Potter, The Odyssey, Lord […]
TWD: The Evolution of Fear
When the tv show The Walking Dead made its debut on cable tv, I was a sophomore in high school on Halloween night. A heavy advertisement campaign for the show meant I was aware of its impending premiere. My fascination with horror lent me enough intrigue with the zombie drama that I recorded it. I […]
Discarding the Veil: A Eulogy
I’ll admit it. I was not a cool kid growing up. Far from it.
The First Time: Alcohol
We were confined to the closet in a home I knew well. It changed owners often and I visited with every new iteration. This was round 3 in the rotation and the oddest one yet. The girl of the house, the oldest one, was a year my junior. Her father was a cop and her […]
The Corals Are Dead
What happens when you encounter something that was once only text on a webpage?
Liberation
My life is a series of peaks and valleys. Years pass with months of utter bliss dotting the seasons. Slowly these golden hues of happiness lose out to a more solemn and colorless gray. This proceeds further until all color is sapped. To rise from the numb security of sleep is an assault on the […]
Christmas.
I once loved this holiday. I still do, in fact. The reason for the warm feelings comes from the temporal significance the holiday season carries. Every year, like clockwork, old decorations are restored to their places, familiar treats warm our bellies, and music older than most of us fills our ears. Christmas lives off of […]