Coulda

The happiest day of my life was the day I was the filthiest and the cleanest tired. I woke up jittery on the floor of a Mexican church, and pulled on overalls. All day we nailed two-by-fours and I drank gallons of water without ever having to pee. In the desert, you don’t pee or […]

Physical Evidence

At a certain point, you were supposed to have a line across your back and this meant you were a mature female, and not a child or the elephant man. It also meant you were wearing a bra. Later you would strive to hide any evidence that you were, like most western women, wearing a […]

Mob Mentality

Last weekend’s local teenage mob and police action was the subject of some discussion at my school. A few of the kids were there, and everybody wanted to know what went down. So we had this awkward conversation before we could return to the glorious banality of Week 20 vocabulary….

The Keys

When I visited, I met prison guards and leaders who reeked of peace like a Zen master. And guards who seemed edgy. If there’s anything a prison needs, it’s peace. A lot of people are in there because their peace meters ran on empty too long.