The smell of orange blossoms is a strong part of my childhood memory. There were several acres of orange groves next to my junior high school. Kids used to smoke cigarettes, pot, get intimate, etcetera in the grove. There is no way that I can Read More …
We sat in the back of a deuce and a half (two-and-a-half-ton truck), dressed for battle—M-16s, M-60s, hand grenades, and other weapons were loaded up. It was full alert. In a few weeks, I was scheduled to get my discharge from active duty. My Army Read More …
My brother said, “It looks depressing.” That was his first impression of Detroit. The architecture was older and more industrial than anything we were used to. We arrived in February of 1967, a few months before the riots. Many houses and other buildings burned to Read More …
Driving west on 98 towards 441, I did a loop through Pahokee and Belle Glade. It’s not the fastest way back from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando, and that didn’t matter. It’s one of the most interesting ways, and that did matter. The area felt foreign Read More …
The bus driver asked me where I was getting off. I said Marfa. He said, “I’ve only dropped off Germans and Japanese there in the past.” It was 1999. Marfa, Texas didn’t have a bus station. The bus driver said, “The bus station isn’t really Read More …
The unlit tip of Joe’s Pall Mall cigarette hung onto his lower lip. I kept waiting for it to fall. It didn’t. It never fell. The ember moved up and down slowly as he matter-of-factly stated that my brother was going to be a left-handed Read More …
Turkish tobacco smoke filled the bus. The wind and the temperature picked up as we descended to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem. Sand blew in through the open windows, stinging my face and creating a film over my exposed extremities and clothing. The drone of Read More …
I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primaries. I’m definitely voting for Hillary Clinton during the election. In the past, I’ve said that I’m not a hardcore Democrat, but I am registered as a Democrat so that I can vote in Florida’s closed primaries. I’ve Read More …
When I was eight years old, I organized the neighborhood kids on a project that I was sure would change all of our lives for the better. Using discarded boards from picnic tables and other junk, I decided that we would build a raft much Read More …
Dear Boys and Jan, I really miss all of you. I’m glad to be able to be serving our country in a time of need. I’m in a supply unit that is a support unit to some of the posts in Vietnam. It’s a different Read More …
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