Yard Bargains

“How much for books?” “Fifty cents.” Dan didn’t quibble. He knew what he wanted. Hard back classics. He rummaged through several cardboard boxes and plucked out a half dozen keepers. A collection of Jack London short stories. Aldous Huxley’s Brave … Read More

On Seeds

There are seeds in every abandoned house, in the dry rotted floorboards and the mildewy walls, in the moss on the roof where sunlight doesn’t reach. The seeds are in the windowsills, in the clawfoot tub with as many rings … Read More

Wings Over Columbia

It was the largest crowd ever to invade Memorial Stadium. One autumn Saturday a dozen years ago, thousands of football fans packed together, and their colorful clothing attracted a million Monarch butterflies who rode the breeze across the stadium. From … Read More

Grundy County Horsepower. Chicken Power, Too

Turds dot the roads like a giant linear checkers game. Up the road, a hundred buggies parked outside the local produce market. A giant four-horse draft team passed me, its wagoneer headed to plow a field. We waved at one … Read More

Welcome Home

Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gone. Maybe you circled the globe.  Or you just stepped out the door to grab the newspaper. The committee assembles. With laser focus, they position themselves according to their own rules. You can return … Read More

Searching for The World’s Greatest Taco Stand

In a world where big chains employ clowns and kings to spice up the sameness, the rugged individuality of the Mexican culinary art form engages all five senses. It’s rewarding to find a truly authentic Mexican restaurant, one that offers … Read More

Where the Carny Sleeps

They were hiding back among some barns and sheds. I’d uncovered a spot where a traveling carnival sleeps in the off-season. Only partially visible from the road, the unique shapes and garish colors jump out from the octopus, with light … Read More

New Book in 2018!

She handles through turns like a dancer with the spirit of a sports car and the mileage of a miser. Her flanks show dings from parking lot encounters, and her roof is a quilt of dents from hail and scratches … Read More

Road Story

Erifnus waited patiently beside old hotels and farmhouses, chapels and prisons, diners and greasy spoons, graveyards, museums, creeks and canyons and unsavory encounters. She always escaped with a story. She won an Emmy. I just went along for the ride.

Milestone

Should’ve planned it better. Some exotic background like Mt. Rushmore or the Golden Gate Bridge. It sneaked up on us as we left the city limits, so we pulled off I-70 and into a parking lot, where I made Erifnus … Read More