America – J. Love, The Wordsmith

The Aqua Tunnel.

I was eleven years old when my father took me and my half-brother Mike for a weekend vacation in Richmond, Virginia. I’d been to Richmond a few times, and while I thought it was a bit more laid-back than my hometown of Washington D.C., I never felt like it was “the south” or “country.” WeContinue reading “The Aqua Tunnel.”

My Amtrak Writing Retreat: The fast trak back.

After two and a half days of dealing with Los Angeles traffic, I was more than ready to get back on board the train and head east. Especially since I went ahead and upgraded to one of the bedroom compartments. Los Angeles’s Union Station was every bit as big and busy as Chicago’s, with old-schoolContinue reading “My Amtrak Writing Retreat: The fast trak back.”

My Amtrak Writing Retreat: Who and where am I?

Day three of the retreat got off to a rocky, rumbly start. The train was shaking so damn much, I had no choice but to give up trying to sleep at around 6:00 a.m. Central time (I think). All meals in the dining car are included when you book a sleeper car compartment. Still, IContinue reading “My Amtrak Writing Retreat: Who and where am I?”

My Amtrak Writing Retreat: It continues.

So, I bedded down pretty soon after dinner, as I had been up since 3:30 that morning. I slept about as well as one could sleep on a moving train. I vaguely remembered waking up and looking out the window as the train pulled into Cleveland, Ohio in the middle of the night. Oh–forgot toContinue reading “My Amtrak Writing Retreat: It continues.”

#Amwriting. #Amediting. #Amtrak.

I am just a few days away from departing on a 10-day vacation, riding a train coast to coast and back again, during which time I hope to get a lot of my writing projects finished, polished, and ready for submission. I’ve put together my own writing residency, after the folks at Amtrak decided toContinue reading “#Amwriting. #Amediting. #Amtrak.”

Commercials: Hey racists, boycott THIS. We dare ya.

Remember back in 2013 or so, when the cute li’l biracial-looking kid in the picture up above was featured in a Cheerios commercial, with a black man and white woman playing her parents? Remember too, the “backlash” from racist jerks who were appalled that Cheerios would feature an interracial husband and wife, some even goingContinue reading “Commercials: Hey racists, boycott THIS. We dare ya.”

34 States of “Oh Thank Heaven,” 14 States of Hell.

You know how there are all these certainties in life? Death, taxes, Kardashians… crap like that? Well, sometimes, there are things that you think are the same all over the country, if not the world. One of those things was, I thought, the fact that if you lived in or near a major metropolitan area,Continue reading “34 States of “Oh Thank Heaven,” 14 States of Hell.”