Not-yet-published pieces, stories, essays, rants, and random strangenesses

I‘ve been missing my dogs a lot lately. We had Tasha for ten years, then Goldie (pictured here) Tasha—whose full name was Tashuunka Wakan...

Just after noon today, there was a strange noise outside my mother’s bedroom. It sounded like someone was trying to get into the house,...

How poetically appropriate that the End of Humanity should come from such a tiny, sweet source By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist...

Many homes in this part of Florida (that is to say, homes newer and more expensive than ours) have a large screened-in area that encloses...

Last night I swore I’d never again set foot in the Black Hills. Today I feel pulled back there, if for no reason than to see what they...

This morning I came to a startling conclusion: it’s all Tim and Kathleen’s fault. Every bit of it. Well, them and my now-long-dead Nana....

Yesterday I saw a tortoise crossing the highway. Some cars dodged it, a few slowed, others either didn’t see it or didn’t care. When a...

Woman Dies After Snakebite In Church LONDON, Ky., Nov. 7, 2006 Associated Press A woman died after being bitten by a snake during a...

When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,...

by CHARLES SIEBERT, The New York Times Published: October 8, 2006 “We’re not going anywhere,’’ my driver, Nelson Okello, whispered to me...

Q: What happens if you use a Ouija board with a dog or cat? A: You get replies like “Lick your butt” A: Meow meow portals to hell meow...

In my tarot deck, the Fool card shows a young man innocently stepping off a cliff, with only a rainbow—a trick of light and water, a...

Touch the earth, love the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas; rest your spirit in her solitary places. For the gifts...