A Love Letter to Oysters Note: A version of this essay won Second Prize in the 2023 Carolina Woman Writing Contest This post is a love letter to oysters. But you should just read it to yourself. Oysters have mouths but no ears; they won't hear a thing. We hosted an oyster roast over the … Continue reading A Love Letter to Oysters
The Joys and Hazards of Pantsing I learned a new word this week, "pantsing." Before I tell you what it means, let me share a horror story. I heard it twenty years ago, during my new-hire teacher orientation (I taught high school science for eleven years). The workshop leader was a veteran math teacher who … Continue reading Pantsing
Adults Only I like my insurance agent. He gives that personal touch - you know, like I'm his only client, his only concern. He looks me in the eye. He knows my name. He asks about the kids. He never scolds me or rolls his eyes when I ask redundant questions or need it all … Continue reading Adults Only
Punk Poetry You know why second-hand stuff is better than new stuff? Because someone else already decided it was good enough to buy in the first place. It's been curated. The really awful junk doesn't even make it to round two; the best of the best gets to advance to the finals, where it … Continue reading Punk Poetry
Percolating Poetry “It’s time for the Percolator. It’s time for the Percolator.” I was twenty-something. It was the early 2000s, and I was in Raleigh, NC at a nightclub called Visions (long since extinct). The DJ took center stage, and the crowd gathered 'round. "Come on up to do 'The Percolator,'" she said, and I … Continue reading Percolating Poetry
Fortune 40 Today, I had my annual check-up. Except, I've only been once before, so annual is a strong word to use here. Up until now, I'd stuck my tongue out at the doctor, not for the doctor. Well-checks, exams, and preventative medicine were for other people, not for me. But forty isn't young. It … Continue reading Fortune 40
Conspiracy Beeries I know someone who likes conspiracy theories. It's all of us. We all like conspiracy theories. We're wired to link disparate events and people, finding hidden connections and uncovering the meaning we so desperately crave. It gives us the advantage over our less sentient co-animals, but it can lead to some pretty crazy … Continue reading Conspiracy Beeries
A Hairy Subject Warning: This post is 99% tasteless jokes, 1% serious writing. I tried to do better. You see, I wanted to write a smart and sensitive post about eunuchs, but I didn't have the balls. I warned you. The pun all began with a quote from an article in this month's Smithsonian (Jan/Feb … Continue reading A Hairy Subject
My Favorite Book Those are big words. Can you really have just one favorite book? Maybe not, but John Crowley’s Little, Big has been my favorite for the longest - since I was about sixteen, and unnaturally intuitive aunt gifted me the novel for Christmas. I decided to read Little, Big again, with attention as … Continue reading My Favorite Book
Here Be Dragons Dragons make everything better. Fairy tales, New Year’s celebrations, yoga. Real dragons, of course, would be a major downer, but dragons aren’t real (are they?) They’re fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding, flying magical creatures of our imagination. They might consume a fair maiden or two, but look what they give in return – great stories. … Continue reading Here Be Dragons
Jessi Waugh Writer 