A tiny little turtle, maybe the size of a half-dollar, ducked and wove through our pond, the mama close by, drifting with a sentinel eye above water. A night heron was already scoping on the perimeter, and a skinny coyote…

DO NOT FLUSH The metal sign was screwed into the chipped plaster wall above the toilet, and my eyes traveled down the list as I did my business. Better than looking at the alternative. Tampons, sanitary pads, napkins, the usual,…

I didn’t cry when I first heard. Not because I didn’t like the quiet, shy, gentle tail of the 7-kid monster that used to roar through my house almost nightly.   I did like him.   I hadn’t been in…

I remember sitting cross–legged in front of the stereo, waiting.    And waiting.   Back then, I was living in Seattle, and a DJ at the big radio station had told me that my song ‘Wide Awake’ might make it…

Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true, or is it something worse?                                                                                      He remembers riding in his brother’s car, her body tan and wet, down at the reservoir. Pulling her close as they lay on the…

I never liked the circus. The clowns always scared me.   Which is why I’ve tried to stay away from the news. I’ve done a decent job relegating myself to the delivered Sunday newspaper, which I really only keep a…

About 3 minutes ago, I realized I didn’t send out my holiday message this year. But we’re still in December, at least here in San Diego. So here goes: A few years ago, I stumbled into an angel. At the…

Apparently, I’m going to become a father today.    No, my partner isn’t on the way to the hospital, or pushing a baby out in our bathtub.   This is going down in a way I never imagined.    In…

I usually write a story about gratitude on Veterans Day. Acknowledging that appreciation should be done every day, of course, but so should a lot of things we don’t do every day. Life gets in the way. Responsibilities pile up.…

Sometimes you have to give it a minute. Or fifteen years. Or thirty. I wouldn’t say I thought this guy was psycho, but I kept him at arm’s length when he first approached me as a fan. Which is what…