My mother has always said that I’m a runner. When the going gets tough, I get going. She says I’ve done it ever since I was a little girl. And I have to say, I do remember a smaller version of myself, backpack fully loaded, heading out the door. Proclaiming to any who was listening …
Continue reading Things like love.
McFarland, California. A small town of about 13,010, located in Kern County, straddling the 99. McFarland is known for a Cancer Cluster in the mid 80’s, which took the lives of over a dozen children, and its Cross Country Team, which ought to tell you something. When the best sport is running, you can’t help …
Continue reading One Rose in a One-Stop Town
I'm coming home from my wanderings. Briefly. I'm sure I'll head back out soon. I'm too restless not to. But what a week for it. Aside from Earth Day (if you haven't planted something yet, get on it), Friday was the birthday of my main man of the mountains, John Muir, a major advocate for …
Continue reading Chasing Waterfalls
The Northridge Review is shifting to an online literary magazine. We are accepting work from writers across all genres, fields, what have you. I'm the Prose Editor for the Spring Edition, and I'd love to see your stuff. Send me your weird, eclectic, unconventional writings. Make my skin crawl. Give me nightmares. Or, just tell …
Continue reading Creative Writing Friends…send me your work.
Puke on a hot sidewalk. This is the smell of the Salton Sea. Rotten eggs, perhaps, is a more familiar notion. In 1906, attempts to bring water into the Imperial Valley from the Colorado River failed, and a strange little ocean was born in the desert. Contractors didn't account for the massive buildup of silt, …
Continue reading Puke on a Hot Sidewalk: The Salton Sea Chronicles, Part 1
There are dinosaurs. Out in the desert. A rare and extinct breed the size of Godzilla himself. In the city of Cabazon, which sounds a lot more exotic than it actually is. If you're driving down the freeway, on Interstate 10, you can't miss them. They roar at every passing car. Dinny the dinosaur and …
Continue reading Jurassic Adventures: Don’t Drink the Kool Aid
Her eyes are tired. Her face is like the desert landscape, like the canyons carved away by eroding wind and sand, the wrinkles make fine grooves upon her skin. She stands beneath the roadside stand, fanning herself with a bronzed hand, the ensuing breeze she creates playing at her stark, black hair that reflects the …
Continue reading Road Side Reflections
Killarney, Ireland. Home of Daniel, a man you'll never meet. Although I suppose you could, if you ever found yourself in the bar of the International Hotel, in County Kerry, where Daniel spends his nights. I highly recommend staying there. They have fabulous views, and spacious bathtubs, perfect for an afternoon nap after you've indulged …
Continue reading Where Guinness Flows like Water
The Wild Heart of Life 