So I’ve been incarcerated for almost a year now. Not at Cook County, but Jesus Jail. But you might know it as Jesus People or JPUSA, an intentional faith based living community. Folk from all walks of life live here: artists, musicians, junkies, punkies, the tatooed, tattered and torn, all taking time out from whatever broke them to recover. And people come […]
Jesus Jail
Drive-bys and Drive-thrus
Really? Another drive by in McDonald’s drive thru? It wasn’t even 6 am when I heard the shots outside my window at the McDonalds on Wilson and Sheridan. The windows got shot out of this van by a group of guys … …the the victim got hauled away in an ambulance. But nobody saw nothin’…not even the homeless lady […]
That Old Rhinestone Cross
I’m still unsure what happened. All I know is that sparks were flying as the broken necklace zapped a socket, and the cross punctured my foot. Yes, rhinestones and all. I am still in a bit of shock over this freak accident and I’m sure Jesus is, too. But while the chain left a singe on the power strip, the […]
A cuppa wifi
He was shaving outside of the donut shop with one of those disposable razors you get in a hospital care kit. I imagined how dull that blade was as he checked his reflection in the glass. As he moved in closer to shave his jawline, the man stopped to read a sign. FREE WIFI He placed his razor down on the cement curb and hustled inside. […]
No Tittle Too Little
Lately, I’ve been feeling like a tittle. If you’re wondering what a tittle is, you’re not alone. Tittle is a big word for that little dot that tops the small vowel “i”. I never would’ve learned the word if I wasn’t teaching language learners in Asia, in an tittle sized village of six million people. A tittle may seem like an insignificant […]
What the Pho?
I’m made pho fo’ three hundred and fifty people this afternoon. I don’t know what pho looks like or even how to pronounce it. I think it’s pronounced fo, like fo’real and fo’get it. I’ve never made pho be-pho, but since I lived in Asia, everyone thinks I should be a whiz at making it. Pho’ real ? Luckily, none of […]
Moving Beyond
It was an afternoon like any other in Uptown. Crisp blue skies. A few homeless guys checking trash cans for empties. Cars waiting their turn at the stop light. Kids playing soccer on the sidewalk and the ball that bounces into the street. Then BAM! A kid gets hit. I saw the aftermath on Clarendon and Wilson a few minutes […]
My Life Out Of Storage
When I slid up the door to the five by teen foot space, it contained the usual suspects: Christmas ornaments, china, kitchen utensils and an Italian desk that we don’t know how to put back together. But the rest of those duct taped boxes in the storage unit? My countless diaries. I’ve been documenting my life since I was eleven, in pink paged diaries with little locks, the margins […]
Daily Dalai Llama
“Nothing will muck up your day more than an escaped llama.” That was my friend’s words of advice when I offered to llama-sit so she could escape with her husband for the weekend. “Ginger, farm animals might be friendly but they can take you out if you turn around. So always, always always focus. Shut the gate behind you. Pat the horse’s butt when […]
The Donut Tree and Donut Dares
This is the first summer in five years I haven’t been at the family cottage in northern Michigan, treat in a town with more fudge shops than people. The cottage is on one of those back roads that require a few stops at a gas station for directions. One of the landmarks has always been this big tree with a hole in the […]