Category: family

• To the American Chopper Lighthouse

  Oct 24

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• Hiram Arnold

  May 28

  For this Memorial Day, instead of visiting the grave of my Uncle Frank, who was killed in Vietnam three days before his twentieth birthday, or of my grandfather, whose body… more ›

• In Search of Babushka

  May 18

  Babushka’s Journey: The Dark Road to Stalin’s Wartime Camps is an eloquent travel memoir that also manages to do the heavy lifting required by great historical writing. Though German-born and… more ›

• Memories of Uncle Bob

  Dec 26

  Last week we buried Uncle Bob. Despite the fact that the bar was ridiculously low, he was nevertheless my favorite uncle. Two of my earliest memories are of him. I… more ›

• Tres libros

  Oct 3

  I recently read three short books, all fiction about Mexico: the novel Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera (trans. Lisa Dillman), the collection of short stories… more ›

• In the Name of David

  Feb 17

  Back when I collected personalities the way other kids collected trophies–dissociative identity disorder, for those in the know–there were two who went by the name of David. I’ve always liked… more ›

• Dead Babies

  Mar 31

  At the edge of my undergraduate alma mater lies a cemetery for those who died in a nearby, long-since-vanished house for unwed mothers. I wonder who these poor mothers were.… more ›

• Fireworks

  Jul 2

  During the holiday fireworks over the weekend he remembered his grandfather who lost his sight in the early days of World War II. Every Fourth of July his grandparents would… more ›

• Barabbas, Son of the Father (In Our Age)

  Dec 31

  It was unanimous: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have the Jews calling out the name Barabbas, calling out for Barabbas’s release, calling for the crucifixion of Jesus, the other Son… more ›

• Crisis of Meaning (And Yes, You Will Misunderstand)

  Jun 2

  Churches contribute to gay suicides, most Americans believe. I wonder if blaming region also somehow gives it more power or credence in the lives of those who would commit suicide. It… more ›