(Transcription of a note scribbled on the back of one of my homework handouts from mid-winter, 15-16. It comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me.) I just realized how much I crave change. As a high pressure system settles above us, and everyone comments cheerfully on the calm blue skies, I begin watching... Continue Reading →
School Violence: A False History Text
"Secure Schools: Excerpt from Educating America in the 22nd Century by Jack Markhum" Published by neutronsprotons.com on January 4th, 2015 "Still having a great deal of sway over the education system, it was here that the Federal Government intervened with what would become a pivotal action: The Secure Schools Teacher Education Act of 2028. In this... Continue Reading →
Because February
February is in the deep end playing sharks and minnows for the first and tenth time too many. Dive in to win, the only way is down. Once the weight is crushing, chlorine peeled pupils scour for direction. A burning squint is better than blind in the 12 feet below. Popped ears grope at the muted... Continue Reading →
although today is gray
Colorado has no averages. It does not have any medians. It has both ends of a number line, it has every page in a children’s book of opposites. It hasn’t taken the time to add together every extreme and come up with the middle. There is too much color, or none at all. There are... Continue Reading →
Desert Romantic
Why do I go back to the places I’ve been? To the places I have already mapped and frozen In the well-behaved memory of film? Why return when I can say 'yes' To 'Have you ever?' Because I know which trail ends on a cliff Where the swallows dive and beckon, And that after the deep-shade... Continue Reading →
Travel Guide Entry
The Battle of Hops: Gettysburg of the West When passing by the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies, any historian will no doubt appreciate a stop at the Memorial to the Battle of Hops just south of Fort Collins. A little known, but extremely bloody conflict in early 21st century, the Microbrew Wars were started... Continue Reading →
Olvidar
One thing at a time was not enough to remember. Today through last August dates the papers, cornered by legal pad pages tiling beige carpet with 'to do', as the sad, damning bills stack unopened, but potent. Don't the bottles pile up too, with glinting glass fuzzed madrugadas beside the porcelain sink blinking pristine dust.... Continue Reading →
Would this have won a house?
A year and a half ago, a couple was trying to sell their home in the Red Feather Lakes region (on the Front Range near Fort Collins) to no success. So instead they created an essay contest with a $100 entry fee and 500 word limit, and once they had 2,000 entries they would pick the best one... Continue Reading →
How to survive in the desert
6.17.08 And the summer heat I now understand. Soak it in. Try to pinpoint the exact origin of all the waves of dry, hot air which assail your legs, or back or face. Do not be afraid of what the brutal rays of direct noon-time sun will do to the top of your head. Your... Continue Reading →
Myths
I wrote this myth when I was an instructor for Outward Bound in the summer of 2007. *A quick note about dates: Whatever date I include with a piece is the original day it was written. I may have edited since then, but many of these posts will be from old journals or assignments that... Continue Reading →
Lindsay DeFrates 