Monthly Archives: July 2016
by Bekah Waalkes | Jul 31, 2016
Your family just departed after a terrific weekend? No better way to fill the blazingly empty days in front of you than some Sylvia Plath!
by Julia LaPlaca | Jul 30, 2016
The village of Visnes boasts an unusual claim to fame—its now-defunct mine produced the copper used on the Statue of Liberty.
by Jack Van Allsburg | Jul 29, 2016
Because when it comes to people I know who are both 1. my age and 2. genuinely proud of our country, the list grows thin.
by Bekah (Williamson) Medendorp | Jul 28, 2016
I have no advanced skill in any area of life that lends me to glory or even mild recognition. You would be writing to a very ordinary woman of meager talent.
by Brad Zwiers | Jul 27, 2016
I do feel cynical toward the political system. I am disgusted by people spouting hate at one another. I am sick of all the shouting. I do have a headache.
by Ryan Struyk | Jul 25, 2016
17. It’s a small world. You will meet the same people over and over. So if you’re bad at remembering names, start practicing now.
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Jul 24, 2016
This morning, while I walloped crawling mosquitoes off of my vulnerable feet, my husband hacked off haphazard slices of my toenails with his Leatherman.
by Michael Kelly | Jul 23, 2016
We stepped off the plane and looked around us. There were six rainbows. At the same time. It was amazing, surprising, and exactly what I expected. Perfection.
by Matt Medendorp | Jul 22, 2016
In 1998, Billy Collins pulled off the greatest literary practical joke in the history of the English language: he invented the paradelle.
by Andrew Orlebeke | Jul 21, 2016
It’s finally here: After conducting numerous focus groups, objectively scouring reviews, carefully analyzing plot devices, and synthesizing the results, I am ready to debut The Definitive TV Show Primer.
by Gabe Gunnink | Jul 20, 2016
In the evening we venture out into the city that she has called “the armpit of California” and find a place to procure some burritos. As we eat, Aunt Ellen tells me about her world travels.
by Mary Margaret Healy | Jul 19, 2016
Ash Ketchum lives in a world where all animals can be pets. Ash Ketchum’s life is one big adventure, and everyone he knows has a life as full of destiny as he does.
by Ben DeVries | Jul 18, 2016
Gollum’s torture reminds us of the hand that we the good, we the kind and generous-minded, have in producing “bad character.” We call forth the best and worst in each other.
by Geneva Langeland | Jul 17, 2016
Orlando. Baghdad. Baton Rouge. Trump. Dallas. Brexit. Nice. Ten thousand daily cruelties.
by Andrew Knot | Jul 16, 2016
It took a three-week trip to Singapore for me to decide to try it myself. I had heard it was difficult, that you need a week to truly learn, but I only had a day.
by Cassie Westrate | Jul 15, 2016
When I tell people that the high schoolers painted a building, cleaned up weeds and replaced broken doors, people ask me what the building is for. “Nothing,” I say.
by Will Montei | Jul 14, 2016
My mom refers to Cedar as a “thin place.” She means that whatever barrier keeps humans at a distance from the Spirit is measurably smaller.
by Catherine Kramer | Jul 13, 2016
I have spent the past few months reading and laughing and feeling a part of a larger community of people who frequented the site. The Toastie community is known for its camaraderie.
by Abby Zwart | Jul 12, 2016
It was decided, with enthusiasm on their parts and mild curiosity on mine, that we should have a bird in the house.
by Elaine Schnabel | Jul 11, 2016
Last night I met a twenty-something who is in her last year of undergraduate work. She seemed so young, so bright-eyed and comfortable. I swear I heard my knees creak.
by Bart Tocci | Jul 9, 2016
Because my last name is the same as the company name, I am sometimes asked if I am the owner of the company. Which always seems funny to me. “You think I’m responsible enough to own something?
by Paul Menn | Jul 8, 2016
Spending weeks dealing with a really messed up world and a debilitating weakness have made me really depressed. So, I did the only thing I could to raise my spirits—I made a mixtape.
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | Jul 7, 2016
John has a car and offers to drive home from grad class every Tuesday and Wednesday night for three months. There are four of us for a twenty-minute drive home, and I quickly come to love the car rides and the camaraderie.
by Josh deLacy | Jul 6, 2016
The apple tree shines, and someone puts on Springsteen before the fireworks start. New girlfriends, new jobs, new lives.
by Alissa Anderson | Jul 5, 2016
People know that collar = priest. Seeing a twenty-something woman in a collar is something of an anomaly.
by Ben Rietema | Jul 4, 2016
Of course, it’s unfair to judge a culture based on experiences in airport terminals.
by Sabrina Lee | Jul 3, 2016
About eight hours and one time zone away from me, in eastern Kentucky, tucked between the steep, short mountains, there is a small city with a population of around 7,000.
by Jacob Schepers | Jul 2, 2016
Shows like these, the structural elements composing each episode, have taught me (oddly) as much about genre as any work of theory.
by Katerina Parsons | Jul 1, 2016
But sometimes I am lonely, so lonely that I can’t take this solitude as a gift. It feels embarrassing or unfashionable to admit this, that after almost a year, I feel untethered and empty sometimes, even despite support systems and good friends.
