Last week while backpacking a section of the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon (76 miles from Willamette Pass to McKenzie Pass) I met 12-year-old Tin Tin (his trail name),...

Literature takes many forms, and feeds the reader in a wide variety of ways. But there is one category, I feel, that rises above the rest. Not because it’s...

Leslie Nielsen said, “Doing nothing is very hard to do . . . you never know when you’re finished.” Which I find funny, at least on a surface level....

A crow perches in the maple tree outside my second-story office window.  It has a twig in its beak. A scrub jay lands nearby, eyeing the twig. The crow...

Writing fiction is grounded in exploring the complexities of the story’s characters — their wants, underlying needs, how their minds work, and the resulting behaviors. In that vein, I...

Dear Potential Victims — No, sorry, too abrupt. Let me try again: Dear Conducive Bodies — Um, that’s not it, either. Although accurate, it’s too clinical. This is challenging....

A woman in our local supermarket verbally scorches the deli worker for not putting on a new pair of latex gloves before touching her groceries. Passengers on a flight...

To all the brilliant, amazing women out there, wishing you the recognition, respect, and rightful place you deserve.

In these contentious times, it’s easy to slide into focusing on what’s wrong with the world instead of what’s right with it, what’s missing rather than what’s present, the...

Valentine’s Day has come and gone. For many it was filled with joy and gratitude, and celebrations of love (which often include chocolate). But for others it was a...