Candy Meal
The grocery clerk dragged one bag after another across the barcode reader. With each beep, the display jumped the total upwards. Three dollars more, five dollars, a buck ninety-nine. Despite all of my promises, I knew I’d overdone it again. … Continued
Holy Wine Floater
I was the first one to take hold of the sacred chalice, a beautiful gold cup with ornate filigree and crosses, lots of crosses. Deacon Tom had handed it to me. He wiped the rim first with a sacred wiping … Continued
Pesticide Market
For years, I bought only organic produce. I was willing to go into debt for organic hothouse tomatoes, take out microloans for fair trade strawberries, and hock my electric guitar for framboises biologiques, aka, organic raspberries. My annual produce budget … Continued
Glovun: the Glover Code of Honor
Not long ago, I read an article about an Albanian blood feud connected to their ancient code of honor known as the Kanun. The article mentioned a few salient features: A person’s besa is his word of honor, his sacred … Continued
Proper Placemat Design
Why am I spending so much time thinking about proper placemat design? What cartoon anvil dropped on my head and forced me to stumble around in a dizzy-dazzy haze, contemplating the merits of vinyl and tropical palm versus cotton embroidery? … Continued