The home is warm and cozy. My sister-in-law Morgan’s decorations are subtle—a millennial nod to an ancient tradition. Her tree rises six feet from the floor and tastefully glistens in the living room. My little (bigger) brothers and their families stomp the snow off their boots as they come in. Piles of snow gear accumulate … More Seasons Greeting
Some time ago, my partner and I spent much time back in the country of her ancestors: Italy. As we combed through records and bounced around government offices and communal cemeteries, I had an epiphany of sorts. I sat down and wrote them out. I do wonder if Anna’s ancestors would ever have imagined that … More Momento Mori
When I was just a boy, my father, my uncle and I would practice subsistence moose hunting. It is the act of hunting to eat, rather than to collect a trophy; which is an unforgivable act. We’d take ATVs far into the mountains, dozens of miles away from any roads, which were hundreds of miles … More Colosseums of Time
The cat rests on my lap. A glass of bourbon I received for my birthday sits on the table to my right. She comes in from work. She looks harried, and tired. This month has been a tough one for her. Fall always is. She lets her purse fall to the floor and says “I’ve … More A Place I Will Always Know
The tumbler sits on the table. The clear tinged brown liquid is warm and causes a warmth in my throat, a bravery in my heart. Hemingway said about whiskey “when you are cold and wet, what else can warm you?” He also said to never drink when you are working. I pick up the tumbler … More An Angel in Germany
The plane vibrates like all planes do as I land. This isn’t nearly the worst I’ve felt in a plane before, a teenage boy with sweats on and oversized sunglasses is trying to play it cool. I go back to reading. We hit an updraft. He kicks into the air and yells out an obscenity. … More Paul’s Saints
As he shaves he looks in the mirror and sees where his skin is ageing. When he was young he was handsome, he remembers. He was brave and adventurous. His life was so much more open and the opportunities were endless. He was also very stupid and arrogant. Now the wrinkles grow and his body … More Driftwood
There’s a place in the world. There, in that place, there is a long green. It stretches from the base of a mountain. There are bleached white logs from before man here. They are petrified and solid. The green runs along a stream that glistens in the sun and rain. It pours the stream … More Visitors
“I’ll come down and see you sooner or later.” It might have been the fourth time in as many months that I had said it. “We’ll hang out.” “I miss you man.” “I miss you too.” Still I avoid the trip to his town for too long because it is long. The road is long … More The Boy Leaves
Slowly the sun rises against the mountains. The air bites sometimes before the sun rises to greet me. Then it settles its rays against me. We were old friends. The sun has been friends with all of us since life began on this planet billions of years ago. She is warmth and promises that she’ll … More A Morning in Firenze
Storied By Josh 