At around 4 a.m. on May 18, 2020, I woke up with a lyric fully formed and ready to roll out of me. I stealthily reached for my phone, trying hard not to wake my peacefully sleeping wife, and transcribed the stream of consciousness coming through, too sleepy to manipulate…

We did it. We crossed the threshold into a new year and just by the skin of our teeth. Having mortality on the tongue of every anchor in a 24 hour news cycle has somehow given me a new lease on life by deepening my respect for death. The Buddhists…

Dear Alton, I’m not sure what it is about you. Maybe it’s because your smile reminds me of the first guy that ever asked me to dance at 4-H camp back in the day, or because your shy eyes remind me of the dude I used to tutor in math…

It’s been weighing heavily on my soul. It’s been over 10 years since I heard this song and is refrain still rings in my head. “Just singing a song won’t change the world.” I am a musician in my heart and in my blood, but I don’t make enough money…

There are only three things I remember about the 6th grade, and they all happened in social studies class. I remember meeting my friend Marc, the first person I ever met from the Philippines, who in college became my ballroom dance partner, and who is now living his best life…