Monday was my first bike ride since my dad was killed by a driver, and I was pretty nervous about it. Would I be extra skittish around cars? Would a giant hole of sadness open up inside me as I did the thing we both loved to do on the bicycle that he bought me and he knew was my home? Would the bent stem on my front wheel’s tube make it so hard to pump up that I’d just start crying frustration tears and not make it out the door? I gathered my things, pumped up my tires–the stem miraculously working fine for the first time since July (thanks, pops)–and headed out, layers and hats and gloves for protection. And it was fine.
Continue reading
mourning
Zion Travelers Second Baptist Church at Laurel & Peniston
I woke up early this morning, an hour earlier still than up “early,” in fact. My cats were engaged in a face off with the neighborhood dogs through my windowed door, and Sully, my talkative cat, came to tell me all about it. We then engaged in our easy morning routines–Little, my quiet cat, rubbing her face against my pillow, Sully pacing until there’s food in the bowl, Little making biscuits while I read, Sully laying out on her side with her head in some crazy contortion, looking more peaceful than I can ever imagine feeling. La dee dah, they followed me around as I brushed my teeth, ate breakfast (Sully has to sniff everything), and stared at me as I wheeled the bike out (to dog territory) and headed to work. Continue reading
The Cat Practice at Magazine and Felicity
This week marked another anniversary of what we’ve collectively decided to call “9/11.” I didn’t expect to notice the anniversary this year. That single event has changed so much of what we take for granted, so much of how we think about our relationships to the state, to others, to the world, and what the state thinks it has the right and duty to do to and for us. Continue reading
Coping by Bike
Today was a very, very sad day. Jackson, the very first dog I have loved–and those of you who love animals know that’s one special love–died. Now, I loved this dog. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 