Hiraeth in California

Hiraeth in California

Photo by Mike Towber, Some rights reserved.  for Michael Wells You tell me a staircase that leads to nowhere is your recurring dream just moments before you teach me the Welsh word hiraeth, and it’s as if you’ve used a magic spell: I now have that intense homesickness...
Grandview

Grandview

Photo by Christy Lorio I could have stayed my ass at home, but I didn’t. It was a chemo week and I had already purchased a back country permit months ago and planned out this Grand Canyon overnight camping trip at Horseshoe Mesa, about three miles down the Grandview...
Under the Waterfall

Under the Waterfall

for Mary For fear of polio, as a child,I’d been made to wear a bathing cap,not allowed to get hair wet as I swam. But now here we were: Behind us a cliff,and before us water cascading down,an in-between space,like dusk or dawn. This was not a celebrated waterfall.And...
General Rules for a Starfari When Visiting Hollywood

General Rules for a Starfari When Visiting Hollywood

If you spot a pack of animals, focus on the surrounding areas. Predators will likely be nearby. If you enter a Marie Callender’s and spot a table of celebrities who’d just voted for the SAG awards, do not focus on Andrea from 90210. It will take Marcia Wallace...
53 Minutes: Cliff’s Beach – Oahu, Hawai’i

53 Minutes: Cliff’s Beach – Oahu, Hawai’i

Like a bronze-colored sky god, he extends his arms to his sides. He bows his head in service to her expansive beauty. He turns to grab his board, but before entering the surf, he marks the sand with his feet—maybe in x’s. He repeats this motion three times as if he’s...
The Lady in White

The Lady in White

I walk by the side of the road in my best white mu’umu’u, my hair wild. I am waiting for someone to notice me out of the corner of their eye, someone who doesn’t know the rule. You wen remember for make teri chicken musubi, right? No like get da white lady on us this...