“Normalcy” is that elusive quality that Pres. Reagan promised us a return to. If you’re old enough, and reasonably literate, you may recall how the term was decried by contemporary writers and pundits as a squishily semi-literate, hacked-up stand-in for the perfectly adequate (not to mention dictionarily correct) apropism, “normality.” No doubt Pres. Warren G. … [more]
Thinning
8-July-2020 by 19 Comments
Those old giant forests, masters of wind and makers of weather, base populations for ecosystems beyond our ken, are gone now. Their final stands are reserved for the wealthy few, but adaptable humans have persuaded ourselves of the beauty found in rotted remnants.
Bones & Blood (a listicle)
16-February-2020 by 12 Comments
Diary entry from near my birthday in January, 2017: As a toddler, I was startled to learn from my larger, older cousin that a kid (say, for example, a larger, older cousin) could deploy a toy truck made from six pounds of rock maple as an effective, two-armed cudgel. That was the first time I … [more]
A Case of Hatback
18-January-2020 by 15 Comments
He looked a certain way. Besides size and presence, Grandpa was a hat-wearing man.
Darkly Dawns the Solstice
1-December-2019 by 10 Comments
A couple of years later, I left the careful silence of our never-home apartment to spend my birthday alone, sleeping rough under a ’58 Willys in the company of my good dog Junior and a dented bourbon flask.
Happy Day
21-January-2019 by 16 Comments
Can’t hit an unwavering, choirboy-pure high note anymore (hi, Mom!), but these days I kinda like shuffling through a few songs, growling like Tom Waits’s bartender. There are few fucks left to give and each time I find one, I do my best to pass it down to our kids.
Light One Candle
6-January-2019 by 8 Comments
I don’t know his name and never will. That candle is hard for me to label, and even harder to light. May his memory, tough though that is, be for a blessing.
Yesterday’s News
28-October-2018 by 9 Comments
She put on a brave smile this morning, ate some French toast, and saddled up to go help teach at shul. Pretty Wife made sure our teen was snugly ensconced in her little Toyota, engine fired and seat belt on, before looking away from the window and letting the tears come. There are no safe … [more]
"Jack Lewis takes the overall literary crown with his new book...there’s a lot more to Lewis’s work than what it feels like to ride motorcycles.” — Ultimate Motorcycling
"Insightful and from the heart ... a driven and much recommended look into the mind and conflict of the next generation of war veterans. " — Midwest Book Review (Reviewer's Choice)