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Three in the Quiet Hour
Three in the morning. That tender, middle hour when yesterday has slipped through your fingers and tomorrow is still stretching somewhere just beyond the horizon. I’m perched by the window like some half-awake lighthouse keeper, sipping on silence, letting the stillness settle into my bones. Outside, the wind is wide awake. Not angry, not restless—just…
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2,000 Miles, One Dog, and Zero Regrets (Except for All of It)
by a guy who should’ve known better, but somehow keeps saying yes anyway Just before Thanksgiving, my girlfriend visited me in Richmond, VA and convinced me to spend the holiday with her in Houston — or as I prefer to call it, hell with excellent barbecue. One minute I was enjoying the crisp Virginia air,…
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A Feast, a Republic, and the Promise of Freedom
Thanksgiving. The word alone conjures images of bountiful feasts, warm hearths, and the collective sigh of a nation pausing to reflect on its blessings. It all began with a little ship named The Mayflower, braving the icy Atlantic in search of freedom—a freedom so profound that the very act of its pursuit planted the seeds…
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Symphony of Pirates and Hope
By a guy who thought he was heading to a classy evening of culture… and absolutely wasn’t prepared for what happened instead. Last weekend, the neighbors and I went to see the famed Richmond Symphony Orchestra. And I have to say, they did not disappoint. It wasn’t merely music — it was an explosion of…
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The Gentle Art of Going With Your Gut
By a guy who’s been wrong, right, chased, pelted, lectured, and occasionally saved by his own instinct. Let me break it down. When I was a boy, I spent most of my time playing street games — running around like a feral cat with pockets full of marbles and absolutely no sense of self-preservation. But…
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The Most Wonderful Time to Be Sentimental
By a guy who still gets misty-eyed at the sight of tinsel Ask anyone what their favorite time of year is, and you’ll hear all sorts of questionable choices. Some will say summer — which is basically four months of being basted like a rotisserie chicken. Others will praise spring, a season mostly dedicated to…
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The Best Thing with Four Legs
What’s good about having a pet? Well, let me count the ways—though if you’ve ever shared your home with one, you probably don’t need convincing. First off, it’s waking up in the morning and finding someone—wide-eyed, tail going like a propeller—already convinced that this is going to be the best day ever. Before coffee, before…
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The Day I Almost Remembered a Life I Never Lived, I Think.
By a man who still isn’t sure if he met a ghost or just inhaled too much pollen It’s been said—quite confidently, and probably over a pint—that England, for all its history of wars, plagues, and questionable cuisine, is the most haunted country on earth. Now, I’m not sure who’s keeping score here, because if…
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Three Years from Now (Assuming I Don’t Win the Lottery or Get Hit by a Bus)
“What will your life be like in three years?” they ask, as if I’ve got some grand master plan drawn up on a whiteboard somewhere. Truth is, I don’t. I barely know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow, let alone what I’ll be doing in 2028. But if the universe doesn’t hurl any major surprises…
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Life Between Virginia and Texas: Kids, Barbecue, and Romance
By a Guy Who Accidentally Found Happiness Between Virginia and Texas Ever since my divorce, more than a decade ago, I’ve been living by myself. Well—me and the occasional tumbleweed of pizza boxes that rolls through after my kids visit. Those were the best weekends. It was like hosting a miniature family festival—no tickets, no…
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Life, Love, and the Occasional Falling Badger
By a Guy Who Still Believes the World Isn’t Entirely Mad Whilst walking the other day, I started thinking—never a good idea, but there we are—about how life changes. Sometimes softly, like the slow drift of autumn leaves. Other times, it hits you like a falling badger. And if you’ve never had a badger fall…
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Dreams: Flights of the Soul
You ever wonder what dreams really are? Some people say they’re just the clutter of the day, your brain trying to clean house while you sleep. Science tells us that biologically, dreams are the brain’s way of processing and consolidating information—sifting through memories, ironing out emotions, even rehearsing possible futures. Freud called them the royal…
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Scotland: Where History, Fun, and a Tiny Car Collide
by a guy who thought a Fiat 500 could take on the Highlands, still shouts “FREEDOM!” at strangers, and has no business near bagpipes September 2023. Scotland. Again. Because why wouldn’t you? It’s one of those places that feels like it was designed specifically to make you question why you live anywhere else. Towering mountains,…
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The Sound of Footsteps and Autumn Air
It’s the start of fall here in Richmond. The leaves are starting their slow change, one by one, like little embers glowing in the trees. The air feels crisp and cooler now, sharp in the lungs, almost sweet. Even my dog loves it—this is when we get in at least eight thousand steps a day.…
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Bison, Bears, and Biological Warfare- Yellowstone Adventure Pt-4
By a guy who once thought pigeons were exciting wildlife until Yellowstone proved otherwise. Yellowstone. A place where nature struts about like it owns the place—and, to be fair, it does. All throughout our stay we saw animals you’d seldom or if ever, expect to encounter anywhere else in the U.S., or the world for…
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Together, or Nothing
Dear America. Beautiful and wounded country. In these times that seem to beget violence, more people are calling for more of it. The country is split down the middle, and every word spit out is vile, every thought dripping with hate. Fear’s got a grip on everything, and folks are letting it run their lives.…
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Three Days around Geysers: Steam, Fire, and Mordor- Yellowstone Adventure Pt- 3
By a guy who once nearly lost his eyebrows to a campfire and still thinks a Montana burger could feed Belgium. The last Airbnb move we did was to the west of Yellowstone National Park, but still in Idaho. Forty-five minutes to the gate. And that’s American forty-five minutes too— meaning it’s actually forty-five minutes,…
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The Road to Jenny Lake- Yellowstone adventure Pt- 2
By a guy who doesn’t trust any plan that involves outrunning a bear. We woke up early the next day, the sort of early that only ever feels like a good idea the night before. Having ditched our previous Airbnb—which was about as comfortable as a prison cell with curtains—we’d moved to a new one.…
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Racism and the Weight of History
A meditation on hate, memory, and the long road back to each other. There are a lot of things we inherit from the human condition—curiosity, love, wonder, even a bit of mischief. But hate… hate is learned. Passed down like some poisonous heirloom, tucked into the corners of the soul where fear makes its home.…
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Where have all the cowboys gone – Yellowstone adventure Pt- 1
By someone who still can’t figure out why GPS devices always die the moment you need them most. A couple of days ago we landed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, ready for some sort of frontier adventure. And as far as airport views go, Jackson Hole has got to be one of the most fascinating in…
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Lost in Translation: Misadventures Through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Beyond
Back when the world was still vaguely sensible and living in England, I decided to take a proper road trip. Not one of those dull “fly somewhere, rent a car” getaways. No, this was the real deal—Hampshire to the Netherlands, with a bit of France, Belgium, and an accidental detour into Germany. Because, as always,…
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The America They Fought For
You look at what’s going on these days, and you have to wonder — not in some tired political way, but deep down, where the real questions live, like— how would the Roosevelts see all this? Theodore — a Republican — who fought for the Square Deal, stood up for fairness when it would’ve been…
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The Last Generation of Mad, Wild, and Free Kids
Growing up, back in my day, when you wanted to talk to a friend, you didn’t send a text or drop a WhatsApp message—you got on your bike, pedaled furiously through the streets, and knocked on their front door like a proper human being. And if they weren’t home? Tough. You’d find some other bunch…
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The Salad Bowl, Mad Cows, and Algebra: Notes from a Salinas Interlude
By someone who kept showing up, and somehow became part of the scenery. During those foggy interludes when life had decided to dropkick me in the face, I found myself back in California—specifically, Salinas. I’d gone there not for the scenery, which is mostly lettuce and a worrying amount of dust, but because it was…
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