The way the calls come late at night, and the way that you don’t sleep. Lie staring at the ceiling; know that you must leave town in the morning. The way you need to buy an apple pie for the drive. Let it sit upon your lap the whole way home. You don’t even like …
On April 29th, 1992, a Ventura County judge acquitted four LAPD officers of beating Rodney King. Reasonable force. More than 50 swings of a baton (a baton is made from wood, plastic, rubber, or metal; they function well in regards to breaking windows to rescue victims in driving cars or blazing buildings--imagine that force). Batons …
Continue reading A White Man’s World
Carrizo plains saw a lot of tourists this season, thanks to California storms that quenched our thirsty soils and watered the lands. And in the last couple of weeks, it's seen a lot of trampled flower heads, which is a little frustrating. Not that I didn't trample a few myself from the overwhelming excitement of …
Continue reading My Greatest Loves, and Greatest Losses
Last October, seismologists discovered a second fault line running parallel to the San Andreas, cutting right through the Salton Sea. Which means things may get a lot shakier than they already are. And so, at the risk of having California's next great natural disaster placed on my shoulders, and at the plea of a couple …
Continue reading Post-Apocalyptic Poster Child: The Salton Sea Chronicles, Part 3
She's not from here. Where she's from isn't so far away, but it felt far. It felt far when the scathing heat of a desert sun caramelized her skin, burning at the tender flesh that sizzled beneath the touch of light. It felt far when her legs threatened to collapse like trees in a forest, …
Continue reading The Plight of the Immigrant
My last post was about coming home. And this post won't be much different. Except, I'm not talking about a house, I'm talking about a nation. Some of you have questioned my nationalism. And that's okay, I get it. I understand. I hear you. But you should know that I wear these shit kickers with …
Continue reading America the Beautiful…(damn she’s hot)
As important as it is to travel, it is just as important to have a home to come back to. We all yearn for those connections and we yearn for that sense of belonging. For that basic foundational concept of humanity that says I am from here. This is home. And so, when I'm gone …
Continue reading A Place to Call Home
"I myself have seen this woman draw the stars from the sky; she diverts the course of a fast-flowing river with her incantations; her voice makes the earth gape, it lures the spirits from the tombs, sends the bones tumbling from the dying pyre. At her behest, the sad clouds scatter; at her behest, snow …
Continue reading Stay Wild, my Witchy Little Moon Child
The Wild Heart of Life 