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Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado

At first I felt lost in the coronavirus, but have finally come to grips with uncertainty

Six months ago, I found myself reflecting on my first half-year of pandemic living. A spring and summer of near-total isolation, non-stop chaos, and unfathomable suffering had sapped any semblance of optimism that March 17, 2020 Matthew held onto, leaving in its wake a despondent September 17, 2020 Matthew.  I was scared another six months […]

Posted inColoradans, COVID, Health, News

Youth suicides on the Eastern Plains spark political protest, “7 is too many” social media campaign

The latest deaths dropped on the tight-knit communities of the Eastern Plains like a heavy fog.  Last month it was a senior at tiny Merino High, a girl who signed up for school plays and organized blood drives but was happiest in the rodeo arena.  Then, just a few weeks later, in December, students in […]

Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado

Of whoopie pies and wilderness, and how isolation robbed me of my ability to focus

Here’s the thing about whoopie pies: They aren’t that good. Never were. The official Maine State Treat is a century-old tradition with a similar shelf life. Made mostly of sugar, flour, lard, and cocoa, they live somewhere between a cookie and a cake and are decidedly not pies. They are ubiquitous at the check-out counters […]

Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado

As one who teaches prisoners writing and literature, I offer this to all of us living in isolation

In this Poem You Have a Door to prisoners, refugees, immigrants, aged infirm, children at their screens, quarantined, us What I need to write nowis a different sortof poem, one thatdings like a text or betterrings like a phonecall and when youanswer it isyour best friend, brother,child, something, someone likethat and everything is perfectlyfine, they […]

Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado

When we met amid social distancing, it felt like starting our friendship from scratch

On March 25, I met a friend for a picnic near my home.   For about eight months, he and I had gradually become accustomed to spending more and more time together.  Before social distance began, we routinely spent 10-12 hours a week together, sharing meals, errands, conversations, and artistic projects, with the occasional evening date […]