When I first moved to Chicago 13 years ago, one of the things that intimated me most was the CTA train system, commonly known as the L. Up until that point, my modes of transportation consisted primarily of car, bus, bike, my own feet, and occasionally an airplane. I hadn’t…
“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” — Cynthia Occelli Everywhere I look there are signs of spring. Facebook is filled with…
“I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene.” — Grandma Moses Stephen King once said, “If you want to be a writer,…
“You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds.” ~Henry David Thoreau I believe in talking to the clouds. I believe that winter is too damn long, and that you can never have too much chocolate in the house. I believe that people are essentially good and kind and brave,…
Author’s Note: This piece was written several days ago, but it took me almost a week to show up enough to post it. Baby steps, y’all, baby steps. ****** Earlier today I sat down to write. The conditions were optimal, just the way I like it. A candle flickered in…
You don’t need to look at the calendar to know that it’s January – around these parts, at least. We had our first real snow last night and I spent 30 cold – but strangely meditative – minutes shoveling this morning. I just received an email announcing that school is…