My Grandpa Hofer passed away in 1999, when I was 29 years old. He died of pancreatic cancer. At the time of his diagnosis the doctor said he had 3 months to live. The doctor was about right. My grandpa was a retired music teacher. I never met any of his students, so...
I have a neighbor who likes to call black people coons in private. He won’t call them coons in public though. Instead, he will stop mid-sentence, smirk and wink, and say, “I have a word in mind, but I’m afraid to use it in public.” The social...
I never saw him until I moved into that place on 13th Avenue Southwest, and then I began seeing him regularly. He would appear in the dim light before dawn or after dusk. Unsure if my momentary glimpses of him were just my eyes playing tricks on me, I would quickly...
Coolness is a detachment from yourself and therefore an insult to the gifts god gave you. Do not ever be cool again, not for one moment, not for the rest of your life. Spill your blood onto the floor.
When I was 5 years old my family lived in Oakland, California. We didn’t live in Oakland anymore when I was 6, so I only have a few memories of that place, some random, disjointed mental pictures. A scary German Shepherd loose on the street. A teacher pinning a...
Under my feet I can feel twigs and rocks too small for the eye to see. A discoloration on the pavement is a thin layer of dust, not a stain. In one fluid, uninterrupted motion I hop sideways onto the street, a move I’ve made because I want to bypass the pavement...
