A Kings

  • 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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  • “Do You Remember?”

    By someone who still believes in mornings and the echo of old speeches. Do you remember? Back in October 1962, a young American president from Massachusetts stood his ground against a Soviet titan playing with fire 90 miles off our coast. John F. Kennedy — a Democrat — didn’t blink. He showed them what American…

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  • Of Bridges, an Ark and Pontoon Boats: An American Story- A trip back to Indy Part-2

    By Me, unfortunately. Still in West Virginia—because apparently, I enjoy humidity and odd signage—we decided to go see the New River Gorge Bridge. This is, for those unfamiliar, a giant piece of civil engineering slapped across a massive canyon like a suspension bridge built by someone showing off at a high school reunion. But before…

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  • The Road to Laguna: Traffic, Hot Dogs, and Mild Madness

    By someone who survived a Malibu jam with only a Hyundai and a hotdog memory. Years ago, I decided—because why not—to take a road trip from Salinas to Laguna Beach. And not the usual efficient, soul-crushing, Interstate-5 kind of trip. No. I took the scenic route. Monterey. Big Sur. That glorious, winding stretch of coastline…

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  • Tennessee: Land of Tall Tales and Southern ways

    There’s something about Tennessee that courts the imagination and livens out the heart with dreams of accidental romance, and the chance of an 80 degree weather with blue skies allover. Maybe it’s that charm where people talk in the most southern way, a combination of English and Molasses, that always seem to end a sentence…

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  • Siargao: Paradise, Mosquito Nets, and the Night I’ll Never Forget (No Matter How Hard I Try)

    Back in the summer of 2014, I found myself heading to a remote island in the southern Philippines called Siargao. I’d only ever seen it in documentaries and YouTube videos, where tanned, muscled surfers carved through perfect waves while backpackers with dreadlocks “found themselves”—as if a mirror wouldn’t have been an easier and significantly cheaper…

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  • Into the Appalachian Twilight: A Story of Excitement, Panic, and A Bad GPS- A trip back to Indy Part-1

    By a man who just wanted to visit his sister but apparently signed up for West Virginia’s “Worst Roads and Existential Crises” tour. Years ago, I used to drive from Virginia to Indiana once a week. Like clockwork. Didn’t even need directions. Just coffee, an audiobook, and the vague hope that the car wouldn’t explode.…

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  • Bumper to Bumper with Buffoons: A Driver’s Rant

    By someone who used to be chill, but then you parked like a clown. I’ve been watching people lately—just sitting back and observing the slow-motion car crash we call “society”—and I can’t decide whether the world is spiraling into the abyss, or if I’m simply becoming a grumpier, less tolerant version of myself. It used…

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  • Saudi Arabia, Sand, and Surprise Barbecue

    1998 — Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building. Me, a skinny engineering graduate with the wide-eyed optimism of a chipmunk in a nut factory. And let me tell you, if you’ve ever wanted to experience the majestic thrill of absolutely nothing, the desert kingdom delivers in spades. Miles and miles of beige. Not gold.…

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  • Nostalgia, Travel, and the Myth of the Idaho Girl

    By someone who’s been around a bit and still wonders what happened to all the people who vanished quietly. Lately, I’ve been feeling… well, nostalgic. And not in the soft-focus, violins-playing sort of way, but more like someone opened the floodgates in my brain and out came everything from school uniforms to the smell of…

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  • Superman, Storms, and the Death of Common Sense

    by someone who just wanted a quiet life, a decent sandwich, and a planet that hadn’t completely lost the plot. So here I am, staring at a blank screen, attempting to string together a story, something, anything— but all I can think about is how worryingly uninspired I feel these days. Not because life has…

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  • I Want to Eat Healthy. Honestly. Just… Not Right Now.

    By a guy who once ate a full cheesecake standing up in front of the fridge and called it “portion control”. Lately, I’ve been trying—and I use that word with the full weight of British understatement—to eat healthier. Not because I want to be one of those people who owns activewear in non-ironic colors, but…

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  • Cruising for a Bruising

    In 2016, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea: a relaxing cruise. Just me, a big ship, the open sea, and perhaps a few dolphins joyfully following along as I reclined on the deck, engrossed in a Tom Clancy novel. I pictured people around me, civilized and happy, united by the common goal…

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  • Georgie: The Housemate Who Never Blinks

    Living with Georgie is always having company—even when you didn’t ask for it. Not the spooky, lurking-in-the-shadows kind of company, but a small, fluffy dog with trust issues who seems convinced the world might fall apart if he’s not glued to your side. A little dramatic? Absolutely. He’s got the emotional range of a Broadway…

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  • Where the Past Walks Beside Us on Independence Day

    Today as the sun comes up over in Richmond, Virginia— I find myself thinking about this city and its past. Richmond is not afraid to show its history. It carries it right out in the open, where you can see it, feel it, with the scars laid bare. It’s not hidden or polished. It’s in…

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