I have a friend who was a college rugby player. Even thirty years later, rugby is still a big part of her identity. One day, she shared her team’s pre-game ritual which involved a song and a cheer. She tried to sing me the song, but broke off with emotion. Shaking her head, unable to …
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Tip-Top Readers, I’ve decided to take this story offline for completion so that I can submit it for publication,
VR Will be Bigger than Tech Geeks, but We Need Their Passion to Get Us There
I am Gen-X. I was once dazzled by a blob of pixels on a propriety machine that could accurately be described by today's standards as the worst table tennis simulation of all time on the worst home gaming system of all time: Pong. But what was it that the current, dazzling iterations of table tennis video …
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Bay City Runaway – Part 13
The BART took me within a fifteen-minute cab ride to Heath’s apartment in Fremont, where there was a large Indian community. His apartment complex was modest but by no means a dump. As I climbed the stairs to his third-level apartment, I was overwhelmed by the fragrance of cumin, turmeric, ginger, onions, and garlic. The …

Whiff – Chapter 6
I wake up excited. It’s Saturday, and I’m free to spend the day visiting my collection. I think about the places I want to go and smell. I fix Mother some toast with strawberry jam and a cup of hot coffee. She’ll be sore, so I’m prepared to rub her legs with liniment. She says …

Whiff – Chapter 5
Start from beginning I didn't grow up wanting to be a library assistant. I work here for four reasons. One, it's right next to the post office. This allows me to visit it more frequently. I have a morning break, a lunch break, and an afternoon break with which to visit my beloved. It's only …

Bay City Runaway – Part 12
The BART took me within a fifteen-minute cab ride to Heath’s apartment in Fremont, where there was a large Indian community. His apartment complex was modest but by no means a dump. As I climbed the stairs to his third-level apartment, I was overwhelmed by the fragrance of cumin, turmeric, ginger, onions, and garlic. The …

Whiff – Chapter 4
I reach in my pocket to find the bottle #2, and gather my courage. I rub my index finger over the smooth contours of its corners and over the rough surface of the little cork that held beloved scent of Mother. I thought of girls in my past who had rejected me and had been …

Bay City Runaway – Part 11
Laura and I decided to break up the spring of our senior year of high school. She had chosen to go to a small private college in St. Louis, and I would be staying in Oklahoma to study computer science. We wouldn’t write or call. That was the deal. But we would reconnect in the …

Whiff – Chapter 3
Mother was rather demanding with me this morning. At first her coffee was too hot. Then her toast was too burnt. Then she wanted me to rub liniment on her feet. I am a full fifteen minutes late to work. When I arrive, I duck into the back, hoping to avoid a cross word or …