Wythe County, VA, 1985 The rifle is heavy and hard in my arms, the butt jammed up into my right shoulder, just like Lee showed me. Peering down the nose of the gun, I can see the line of targets—coffee […]
Marsha P. Johnson
Pride Profiles, June 2, 2020 In June 2020, I published one flash essay per day on Instagram, each a profile of a queer person who had personally influenced me. Some of these profiles are accompanied by the artwork of friends. […]
Larry Kramer
Pride Profiles, June 1, 2020 In June 2020, I published one flash essay per day on Instagram, each a profile of a queer person who had personally influenced me. Some of these profiles are accompanied by the artwork of friends. […]
Your Leaving
I don’t remember your leaving. I remember your coming home—the argument I had with your parents, the bubble I felt around myself while among joyful families, the Shoney’s breakfast we shared before coming home to have sex on the kitchen […]
Clean Slates
Once a year or so, I drive my 2006 Prius out to the county to have it detailed. It’s a ridiculous amount of money to spend on washing a car, especially this one. The back passenger door panel is a […]
Scars of War: Watching “Battle of the Sexes”
Battle of the Sexes should come with a trigger warning for us oldish dykes who watched women’s tennis in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s in order to catch glimpses of women who might be, well, you know. Sure, the film has […]
A Proof for Truth
Mathematics is considered the model of black-and-white truth—the universal language of the world. But this is a myth. I once taught Euclidean geometry, the most basic of all theoretical mathematics, to high school students. This geometry is based on a […]
My No-Trump Vote Dedication
A split second is all that separates who I am now—a wife and mother—and who I might have been—an invisible military widow. On August 19, 1993, the love of my life sat in the passenger seat of a cutvee truck […]
Union Craft Takes Beer Brewing Seriously
The sharp scent of hops is strong in Union Craft Brewing’s tasting room. That’s because four Ziploc gallon bags of the fresh, green, flowering cones are lined up and open along a shelf on a wall. Over speakers, a cover […]
Holy Mess: The Battle Over St. Stanislaus
Just after a late-afternoon thunderstorm, the corner of Aliceanna and Ann streets in Fells Point is alive with activity. Horns honk. A woman speaks through a PA system. A man dressed in flowing robes and a tall hat impersonates a […]