Rustic Cabin
A long time ago I lived alone in a rustic cabin located well “off the grid” in in the faraway California woods. It was a sweet spot on the western slope of the Sierra...
Category: Waypoints
A Dog Story
I wanted to try my hand at writing a dog story. First, I needed to get a dog. What kind of dog? A collie. But why stop there? I told my wife that we...
The Old Coot
They say a ghost haunts Mount Greylock. It’s the highest peak in Massachusetts and popular with hikers. When I heard about this singular phantom, I decided to investigate the matter for myself. No, I...
The Genius of Kaaterskill Falls
[The other day I was cleaning out some files and came across this ghost story that I heard when I was growing up. I wrote it down—to the best of my memory—twenty-five years ago....
Tweed Never Goes Out of Fashion
A fine Harris Tweed sports coat had been hanging in my closet for a long time. I bought it in the early nineties, back when I was living on the West Coast and my...
Sod of Destiny
A clear-eyed poet once observed: “Everyone has their Lenox story.” Here’s ours. A beautiful August afternoon, Sunday at Tanglewood. My wife and I have come to hear the Boston Symphony, who will be playing...
Old Air
Step through the weathered French doors into the clubhouse dining room. It smells like old air. A gilt frame mirror hangs precariously on the wall near the door. Try not to look into it. ...
Instances of Waiting
Waiting for an order in Guan Yin’s Chinese take-out. It’s a holiday week in our resort town and things are busier than usual. For instance, I’m sharing the waiting area with a stranger and...
Red Wings
I need new boots for an upcoming trip to the high peaks. The old ones are falling apart. So I make a long drive to an outdoor gear store located in a fancy shopping...
Looking for Four-Thirty-Three
We had been traveling through the high country for days. Mountains and canyons and too much sun. Along the way we skirted a lonesome, treeless tarn. Beyond that rose a steep gravelly slope crowned...