Very early in the morning – our fingers numb from the frigid air, vapors of our breath hanging as if frozen before our unfeeling faces – we were drawn irresistibly to stand immobile, not because we’d been transformed into ice sculptures but because eminent, and conspicuous and glorious was the mountain. From inky blackness, the […]
To Ponder
Letter: Why it’s so hard to have a discussion about land use?
One of the big challenges of talking about land use is that people talk at cross-purposes to each other. It’s almost as if the system is designed to create confusion and ensure money-making projects go through. But it also makes it personally frustrating for people concerned about land use. Let me explain. For Exhibit 1 […]
Letter: The Civil War was lost before it was fought
Submitted by Greg Alderete. Naval Superiority: The Union’s Unassailable Advantage and the South’s Fatal Weakness The Civil War was not only a conflict fought on the battlefields of Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia but also on the seas and rivers that defined the geography of the United States. The Union’s overwhelming naval superiority, coupled with the […]
Letter: The Frog Who Became King
The box labeled “Live Animals” was open. Whoever – and whatever – had been in there was gone, which was a scary thought. Giant green anaconda? Titanoboa cerrejonensis? Vasuki Indicus? Was a slithering, suffocating, snaking, long, limbless reptile with no eyelids and mere slits for eyes watching them from somewhere nearby? Or slumbering? Or silently […]
From Being Ignored to Being Best Friends
A Short Story… Did you ever have friends you felt sorry for? They had certain habits . . . a funny voice, odd movements or reactions that just made you cringe. They joined in singing and they were always off key. People might just keep away from them but they became your friends and you […]
Letter: Shadows of defiance
Submitted by Greg Alderete. The dusty winds of Montana swept across the plains as the 7th Cavalry marched toward the Little Bighorn. Over a century later, in a city half a world away, the deafening hum of rotors filled the air above Mogadishu as helicopters descended into a labyrinth of hostile streets. Two battles, separated […]
Letter: When You’re Given a Second Chance at Love
When you’ve lost the one you thought you never would, you may find yourself going about your days wistfully watching couples strolling hand-in-hand, laughing, and smiling and posing for selfies. Or you see them in church, snuggling close, one arm around the other, occasionally one laying their head on the shoulder of the other all […]
Letter: We Chased the Moon, and Caught the Sun
At first, she thought someone was shining a flashlight in the window. Turns out it was the moon. Though it was 3 a.m. she shook me awake believing the view across the water was too spectacular not to share. She was right. We embraced and watched in the silence commanded by the scene, and though […]
Let’s Talk! – Tea Whistling
Are you ready to switch off your screens and ponder or discuss another writing/conversation prompt during dinner tonight? You want to know about my thoughts on it? Here’s my take: Have you ever heard tea whistling? Me neither. I bet the association with this prompt was a different one. I assume it was about a […]