In 1958, Richard Loving drove his fiancé Mildred Jeter from their home in rural Central Point, Virginia to Washington, D.C. to get married. Then they returned to Virginia to live. A few weeks later, the county sheriff arrived in the middle of the night to arrest the couple for breaking the miscegenation laws. Miscegenation, …
Category: Nonfiction
Nov 27
Summer Camp
I was administering vaccinations against cholera, black plague, and black fever as part of an annual active-duty deployment. It was a hot, July afternoon at Phelps Collins Air National Guard base west of Alpena, Michigan. Trained as an Operating Room Specialist in the United States Air Force, I was qualified to assist in major surgeries …
Nov 24
A Writer Gives Thanks
With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season ramping up, I’m taking a break from writing short stories this month. Instead, in honor of Thanksgiving, I’m sharing my list (in no particular order) of people and things for which I’m thankful, from my writer’s point of view: All my teachers from grade school through …
Nov 18
Coffee Shop Chronicles: Coffee, books and the end of an era
Borders Bookstore Canton, MI April 2011 I came here because I have a coupon. The coupon is for 33% off one item or 20% off your entire purchase. I’m upstairs sampling the vanilla bean loaf, and there’s this weird aftertaste. The black tea is helping only so much. I’m glad I have a peanut butter …
Nov 05
Dead Rising: Not Your Typical Zombie Game
The video game franchises of Fallout and Resident Evil are among my all-time favorites, but they are far from the only series I absolutely love. I would say that what I enjoy most about story-driven video games is that they offer a departure from everyday conventional life. My adventures have ranged from uniting a dozen …