Ballooning

“He looks like The Great Oz,” a friend wrote. I found this caricature while researching my house. Myers, the guy who built it, is in a balloon because he was a member of the Kansas City Aero Club. In his day, around the turn of the 20th century, flying was a dangerous, wacky hobby. Last […]

Hot

It’s as hot as Qatar, I was thinking as I crossed the street. Maybe. Kansas City in August can have heat as invasive and offensive as the Middle East. Not quite the dazzling temperatures, but the sticky air makes up the difference. I was remembering visiting my friend in Qatar– the first day I went […]

Bugs

In our front yard, there’s an abandoned treehouse. I was going to the mailbox, and I looked past the ash tree, toward the treehouse. I never look that direction. The mailbox is, you know, business, and not pleasure, and also you don’t really look at the place you live. The treehouse is left over from […]

Money (That’s What I Want)

There’s this scene called “Dad paying the bills” that we all know. (Yours might be called “Mom,” or “Grandpa,” but it’s quite similar.) In this scene, you have a note from your teacher at school that explains how you have screwed up, and Mom tells you, “Oh, not now. Dad’s paying the bills.” What does […]