In the box

night before Thanksgiving,

Charles in Charge

When my brother and I were in high school, we called each other Charles. We started doing it after we saw that movie the Ice Storm. There were siblings in there who called each other Charles. Later, I called him teensy and he called me weency. Now it's TNC and WNC-IA. I miss him a whole lot.

He's thinking about moving to the West Coast one day. I am still searching for a home, though I'm sure I'll be in Portland for a while because of my job. If he came here, though, I really could start building a home. I really want a life that is near him. I also want a life that includes a good paper and good stories. That said, I have an idea for a story that I am totally excited about. I'm going to keep it to myself for now, just in case it doesn't work out.

Today at lunch, I met this 11-year-old named Jason who told me, "I know you things you probably don't." Like how the Universe was made (Big Bang) or what is floating above my head (that one he couldn't explain. "I see things other people don't. My imagination just grows and grows.") Then he gave me a tootsie roll.

Best songs 08: Won't Say Anything

This is by a Mexican group, Hello Seahorse. It's called Won't Say Anything. It is so cute!

Stream:






Or, download it HERE!

My stuff: Adrienne

Click a thumbnail to see a larger image.







Adrienne explains
Items start on top row, l-r, then down

1. We found this in the backyard of a house we were renting. When we moved, we had to load it on a dolly. It's so heavy, but I think it's so beautiful.

2. My favorite food

3. Cushaw squash, the first food I ever grew from a seed

4. Centromatic, my favorite band

5. Aggie -- it's better for the soil than a tiller

6. Cowboy boots -- A friend gave them to me, already broken in.

7. My favorite picture. That's my grandparents with my aunt

8. My first picture with my husband. For years, we kept it in our car, but it was getting weathered.

9. My grandparents' original wedding set. My grandpa bought it at Montgomery Wards, and it had a 75-year-warranty. They've been married 58 years now, ane he always jokes about how the warranty is almost up.

10. my favorite earrings -- I got them on my first road trip by myself. I spent 40 hours on a bus and went to Montana.

Remnants II

The night the meteor fell, we wrapped ourselves in blankets. The parking lot below us rode cold; we rolled around on it, listening to Tori Amos and watching the sky fall.

The world loomed so large then, but I thought the whole of it was right there. Later, we'd sprawl: local maps stretching into distant cartographies.

[You asked if I could her you silently screaming from a hill. I can now.]

Best songs 08: Time Forgiver

The end of the year is coming, and I'll be sharing my favorite songs of the year. First up: The Dirty Mittens. I love nearly every song on their Pinky Swear EP, but I'm picking Time Forgiver. Since they're a local band, I'm only going to stream it. But I'll add an mp3 of their cover of White Winter Hymnal, which they were offering up for free:



Click here to download White Winter Hymnal cover

Love is all

My brother -- not gay -- drove to Dallas all by himself to protest Proposition 8. Here he is:

Catastrophe Girl

I keep getting myself into trouble this week. First, I dropped a bot of boiling water on my foot, leaving myself with second degree burns, disgusting blisters, and a need to wear my girlfriend's Crocs (only one Croc really). Then, today, I got into a car accident. Only the guy is undocumented and has no driver's license or insurance!

Two weeks ago I outfitted myself with new brakes and a master cylinder. Today, I'll buy myself a new bumper, side mirror and some detailing to the dented up side of my car:

Remnants

from Texas, two of my favorite people:

My stuff: Chris Johnson

Click a thumbnail to see a larger image. Chris Johnson, lead singer of Telegraph Canyon (and my cousin), showcases his stuff








Chris explains
Items start on top row, l-r, then down

1. My favorite record -- It taught me patience. I hated it for a year.

2. Red Rider BB gun; I've had it all my life

3. My first guitar --It was my dad's in the '70s. When I was 12, I took it out from underneath his bed, and I've had it ever since.

4. I traveled two hours a way to get this, and then loaded it into my house all by myself. The guy said it didn't work, but then I opened it, replaced a tube and now it does. It's my spooky organ.

5. Hookah -- My cousin brought this back from Iraq. It's the best thing that came out of going to war with Iraq.

6. Headphones help you hear things you'd otherwise never know are there.

7. I call this the house capo. I always lose it, but it finds its way back to me. It's my favorite.

8. Frida -- She was a stray. We put up posters everywhere, and no one claimed her. Now she's ours.

9. This hat used to have a stupid patch on it. I had wanted a Louisiana patch with a pelican on it for 12 years. My wife Adrienne found it for me on eBay. I sewed it on myself.

10. Jitterbug -- I caught a really big fish with it. It goes on top of the water and a bunch of noise.

First person: Dustin

My younger brother talks about his time in Iraq. He just started a chapter of Iraq Veterans against war. This is a bit longer than the others (about seven minutes), but it's very emotional and moving. I think he's very brave.


First person: Dustin from Casey Parks on Vimeo.


You ever heard that old phrase War is Over? Well, war is over and over and over again in your head.

The ghost of Christmas future

a hint of what's to come:




Neola - Texas - Nov. 1 08