Thirtysomething Birthday
Getting on in years isn't very convenient—but I kinda like it. The less of a fuck I give. The better I eat. The more I like hanging out all by myself. Booze doesn't run the show. The rhythms of the natural world often do. And that twine that connects me with my mom, with my sister, with my dad, with the beings I love and my friends from long ago all scattered everyplace.
Art: Lisa Congdon
True Story
Remember when I knocked my phone off the kitchen counter and it fell slowly but steadily towards the cold tile floor? And remember how I knew without even looking at the phone—just by the sound it made hitting the floor, that the screen would be splintered in a million tiny daggers? And remember how I was like, oh well, I'm just gonna hold out with a busted screen until my upgrade comes through?
No, you wouldn't remember any of that because I was alone when it happened. But my point is that this was way back in April.
And my upgrade finally came through today. In other words, I just got a motherfucking iPhone. The first of my young life. It's shiny. I like shiny things. But I don't know anything about it. I'm gonna turn it on and hope it just goes.
First Cranial Nerve
Spring is, perhaps, the most brutal of all the seasons. Hot sun thaws the earth for a minute, and everything seems possible—and then suddenly. raw wind rips away all hope.
It's not my favorite season, but I kinda think it smells the best. Spring buds smell all fresh and green like the cold water that fed them. Cut grass makes you dizzy. Pollen wafts in pungent clouds through the breeze, floating straight past your nasal membrane and on into your brain cave ...
The First of Many
The older I get, the more clear I become about who my real friends are. So .. this one's for Lefty—part Newfie, part shepherd, all homey...Happy birthday!
So, you may ask, has dogsville changed my life at all in the past year? Hell yeah it has. Filthy car. Hair tumbleweeds in every corner. Poop, as a kind of looming, ever-present presence. And yet ... pure, unadulterated, unconditional love.
Kitchen threshold—hands down, still his fave spot to lay around. He just takes up a little more room now.
Thug life.
Back when he was all claws and teeth.
As guard dogs go, he's not the fiercest, but he keeps an eye on everything in his own way.
Lettin it hang out on the cool tile, what could be better?
First hike. Big Left gets his own water bottle.
Nabbed by the paparazzi at a party.
First snow! Many nips and snarfs, to be sure.
Awkward teen phase.