An Homage to Meriweather Lewis’ Mother, Lucy Marks — I took a wandering hike out in the woods the other day. Although I live smack-dab in the middle of a city, I’m lucky to live just a few miles from woods, forests, and nature reserves. All these protected spaces make for some great foraging habitat. Since it is October…

The struggle of telling the right historical story — One of the weirdest lingering stories of the Vietnam War is the treatment of returned soldiers by American peace activists and students. We have all heard the tales of veterans being spat upon, harassed in bars, and generally treated like trash. However, there are many questions to these claims. And…

A story of Native American activism during the 1960s — Early in the morning of November 20, 1969, 89 First Nations activists piled into a few boats and set out across San Francisco bay with a mission: occupy Alcatraz. The group was made up of women, children, and men, with the goal of setting up an indigenous community on the…

And, just like housework, I’m sick of it. — A few years ago, I was working as a political campaign manager. This job included many moving parts: budgeting, canvassing, volunteer recruitment, and most importantly in this day and age, social media management. Social media is where the people are at, supposedly, but the reality is that most people hate…

The Trail Guide — Have you ever been hiking and wander off the trail? The moment of disorientation can be scary. You sit down for a bit to get bearings, trying not to panic. Just then, a stranger walks by unexpectedly and shows you the trail that was just out of sight. Is that…

Move over Baskin Robbins, there’s real variety in town — A few weeks ago, in a fit of COVID lockdown boredom, my husband ordered an assortment of Kit Kat candy bars from Japan. If you didn’t know, there are over 300 flavors of Kit Kats in Japan, and many are limited edition to keep up consumer interest. As an American…

Dangerous opportunities for Black men in 18th and 19th Century America — During the years leading up to the Civil War, long-term job prospects for Free Black men were scarce in both the North and South. One could usually find work as a porter, servant, livestock tender, as well as general physical laborer. Because these jobs were available to any unskilled worker…

Faith and place in an inconsistent world — Sun Worshippers. New-age cults. Mainstream mega-churches. Many of these groups were founded in the American West, and for good reason. The west has always been a place of escape and individualism, and religious freedoms were always part of the equation. California and The Source People’s Temple and Heaven’s Gate are some of the most…

Today’s the 33rd anniversary of my mum’s death. I have now lived longer than she did, and boy does it seem weird. When you are a kid, the age of 40 seems so… old. Impossible that people can still do the things they want to do. Forty seems blandly middle…