2015: My Year of Writing

April 12: An Earthquake

The first shudder could be a construction crew across the street, the condo building finally going up. It could be a car crashing into the house or your imagination. It could be just about anything.

April 11: Bridal Shower

It’s a foreign country here on the bar patio, in the sun, couples brunching all up and down the street at other bar patios, under other umbrellas, having other conversations probably also about the niceness of the day and the tastiness of the food. It might as well be a foreign country…

April 10: The Oil Fields of Inglewood

The oil wells are churning as I crest the hill. I drive up and over, out of Baldwin Hills, out of the lines of square houses and square stores, and into the oil fields. Like large black bugs, the pumps sit on four legs, their heads jolting forward and back, again…

April 9: Westwood Community Pool

Pools of a certain era hold dreams.

Pools of a certain era were built in meters, not yards. Perhaps it was a time when even the most pessimistic of American builders believed meters might catch on. But, today, these pools…

April 8: The Beach

The sand barely stirs across the cement path. The waves roll in their regular rhythm. There is no appearance of anything out of the ordinary. It is a beach — a beach speckled with small families, children digging holes and fathers standing watch. It is quiet and cold.

April 7: Weather for Your Mood

The sun will harden this fatigue.

I am tired and frustrated and tired of being frustrated and, so, as I storm out of the building, the quickening rain seems merely to be a reflection of my mood. At first, it is only light drops…

April 6: Game of Thrones

The full suit of armor appears to be a statue. It stands still in front of a plastic Iron Throne and it does not move. Girls in short skirts take photos with it, their arms stretched in front of their faces to hold their iPhones. Someone does a spot for TV standing there, interviewing…

April 5: Through the Mist

Yesterday, it was sunny and the roads were filled with people. Today, the cold mist settles on empty trails. Except for us.

We run, three of us, side-by-side up into the tall trees. It is colder than expected, but not cold enough to warrant pants, and each…

April 4: Training Starts Today

All I can see are cyclists.

In the dirt parking lot next to the baseball field, there are two dozen cyclists lounging by cars or on picnic tables outside the general store. The blinking traffic sign as you roll into Nicasio says…