The Home of the Brave

Before the 1680s, a “bigot” referred specifically to a person intolerant of other religions. After that time, it expanded to intolerance of all sorts of things– other races and cultures, for example. The idea that there should not be a mosque near ground zero is covered before and after 1680. There is no good reason […]

Still Waters

St. Paul was a New Yorker. People from New York are recognizeable by their svelte builds, the glow of 14 karat cultural immersion, and the easy eyes that own everything and are never impressed. Two thousand years ago, you see, Rome was New York. Now it is a tourist trap. That might give New York […]

Snakes

It took about nine months to dismantle and excavate the ruins of the twin towers. The people who cut that steel and drove those trucks are still walking around with the burden of memories. What they saw, smelled, and touched. It is the cleanup, the aftermath, the long, day by day, out of the spotlight, dangerous drudgery of facing death that haunts me. When the cameras had floated on to other stories, they were still cutting, digging.

Righteousness

Every time I hear a Fiona Apple song, I remember and miss my righteous indignation. My love of righteous indignation may have been my most passionate and long-term relationship, in fact. And for returning home, after a quarrel, a bitter, wistful song is just right. You never loved me. Use me. It will always be […]