A story about africa.

Map of the continent of Africa. She’s trying to get all her nations in order. There are so many that it’s sometimes very difficult to keep track of them all. Making matters worse, some of her nations keep insisting on changing their names. AFRICA: Alright, is everyone here? How about you, Rhodesia? ZIMBABWE: Mom, you […]

Peter Pan and Wendy: A “Dark” “Retelling” of a classic.

And when I say “dark,” I’m not talking about the screenplay or the script. I mean that the movie is so damn dark, you can’t even see what’s going on for most of the movie’s runtime. Disney’s latest updated live-action, politically-corrected remake, is everything the 1953 original isn’t: dark, dull, and would be the perfect […]

Pronounced “zinc-see.”

He looks me in the eyes, not saying anything for a long time. Finally, he speaks. “Who are you?” I smile. “I am me. Just like you are you.” “True. We are all who we are. But what would you like me to call you?” “If you feel the need to paste a label on […]

Black Girl Joy.

This .gif is from the wonderful cartoon “No Mirrors in My Nana’s House.” And I just love it to pieces.

A Serious Talk.

Young Barry Buffalo arrived home from school. Dad could tell that he was upset. “Barry? What’s wrong, lad?” “Hi, Dad.” Barry shakes his backpack off his back and it lands with a smack on the moist floor of the cave. He headbutts his father hello. “Rough day at buffalo school today. The guys were really […]

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-school […]

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, 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 to […]

My Amtrak Writing Retreat: It begins.

As I sit here in my home, not being able to go anywhere, I’m reminded that a mere three weeks ago, I was in the middle of going almost everywhere in the continental United States. From March 1 thru 10, I was, at different times, on a plane, in a car, and on a train, […]

#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 to […]