He told me that his kids confessed to smoking all his weed, this cabbie did. “When they were in their 40s, they finally admitted it. I didn’t know it was them. I thought my wife was taking my stash,” he said. I hadn’t asked him about his pot smoking habits. It never occurs to me to ask that. I suppose because in my entire life, I have never once smoked weed. When you grow up the younger sister of a... Read more
I talk to the cabbies. Where are you from? They answer: Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, Jamaica, Mississippi. What brought you to DC? A better life. Then they tell me about the people they knew before they came to D.C.. The sisters, the cousins, the aunties, the brothers. They speak about how they miss their mamas and their daddies, some haven’t seen their parents in decades. They ask me where I live. Oregon, I reply. What brings you here? they ask. My... Read more
The Man in the Jeep At first I never even noticed the jeep, what with trying to tie up the bulldog pup. Grandpa Harve was sitting in a mesh lawn chair nearby, his dead arm slung down between his legs. His good hand flicked a cigarette stub. “Karen, you hold her,” Mama instructed over my shoulder. “Frankie, tie that in a doubleknot.” Daddy’s best buddy, Dale Ferrano, had given us a prize bulldog as a gift that day. We... Read more
It’s the end of the school year and you know what that means? Concerts and award ceremonies. Tim and I have been to both this week. The thing is our high school band can rock a house. Seriously. You should see those piano players — three of them — all guys. They know how to put on a show that, if it were in New Orleans, would have had the crowd tossing beads and dollar bills. I’ve been going to... Read more
Whenever I travel I always get back home to emails that say something like: How come you didn’t tell me you were going to be in my neighborhood? I’m telling you now there’s a good chance I’ll be in your neighborhood over the next few weeks. So take a look and if you want to have coffee or have me come speak to your book club or want me to water your flowers, let me know: – Thursday-Friday: Spokane,... Read more
A lot of people talk about the art of writing. Some of the people who say they are writers simply practice the art of hype. But Billy Coffey is the real deal. A good-hearted fellow who can craft a story from table scraps. Billy’s latest book — When Mockingbirds Sing — will hit the shelves on June 11th but you can pre-order it now. And you should, if you like a good story well-told. I invited Billy to share something... Read more
You don’t know how strong you are until strong is your only choice. You don’t know how creative you are until creativity is your only choice. Up. Up. Up. We should all learn to look up instead of ahead. Read more
When Don Miller wanted to make a film of his book, Blue Like Jazz, he directed his fan base to a Kickstarter program and raised $300,000. And, yes, I was a contributor. Something I remembered today as I threw out my signed copy of the Blue Like Jazz poster, one of the “gifts” for those who gave a specific dollar amount. That’s not a commentary on Miller or the movie. I was cleaning the garage out. I also took several... Read more
Almost 90 percent of victims sexually assaulted in the military do not report the crime, so says The Pentagon. That’s a disturbing number. New York Senator Gillibrand blames the system. Letting commanders decide which sexual assaults to bring to trial is foolish. She warns: “If the convening authority is the only decision-maker of whether a case goes to trial or proceeds… all that training, all those excellent lawyers and prosecutors don’t make a difference.” Of course the problems inherent is... Read more
One million. If we were talking dollars here a lot of you would be whistling at the thought of winning that lotto ticket. But I’m not talking dollars. One million children. Kids. Homeless. Right here in America. In the Land of the IRS fraud and corporate corruption. Couch surfing. Living in cars. Sleeping under the bridges. Selling blow jobs for a Happy Meal. If children really are our future America is screwed like a rabbit in the springtime. This notion that... Read more
Karen Spears Zacharias
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