Charge of the Crone

One of my coworkers left in tears today. She was faced with an incredibly difficult decision: her 14-year-old dog needed emergency gallbladder surgery. For $7K. As Americans, we don’t deal with the deaths of our animal companions any better than we do our human friends and family. We don’t deal with death well in general. […]

The Keeper of Palmyra

This 82-year-old man protected his life’s work to his last breath. May we all stand so certain in our convictions in the face of barbarism.

Dangerous Diaries

You don’t need to depend upon Internet echo chambers for inspiration. Awen flows in the quiet spaces between, if we let it – not in the incessant static buzz of the blogosphere.

Death and the Lady

As some of you may know, one of my day jobs is helping older folks manage their bills and balance their checkbooks. It’s extremely satisfying work, one of those rare instances where you can actually see your actions affecting someone’s life for the better. But my clients are elderly. They’re entering the twilight of life. […]

Reflections on a Beam of Light

People say you never forget where you were. It’s true. I was walking back from fencing class in college. The sky was clear, untroubled. It wasn’t until I called my mother and she said, “They’re gone,” that the terrible wrenching unreality of the whole thing became as crystalline as that autumn sky.

There was a reason no jet trails marred the arc of Ymir’s skull.