Author Archives: dust exchange
Punk in Context
“What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.” … Continue reading
Bizarre Jobs
Entrepreneur: We didn’t stay in California long. It was my first semester of kindergarten, and Stephen was in second grade. We came up with the idea of having a “plant sale” on the front lawn. We gathered containers and put … Continue reading
In Front of People
In high school, the senior play for the class just ahead of me was Bye Bye Birdie. I ran sound. Brian Hudson, who played the lead role, was a good friend. My first instrument was bass, and the first guitarist … Continue reading
Visitor Center
There was a war going on. A friend was in the Army, in the middle of the action. He could have backed out after September 11, but it only strengthened his conviction. There were gaps in my work history. I … Continue reading
Ill Manners and Hope
My mouth was terribly dry. I was waiting for family at El Cazador, the only true Mexican restaurant in town. I figured that, when my family got there, I could go inside and order an iced tea. In front of … Continue reading
Theft and Hope
I went to the bank for a roll of quarters. As I handed him the ten-dollar bill, the teller asked if I was going to wash my car or do laundry. There was a teller I liked standing behind him, … Continue reading
The Promise Keepers
A friend from Seattle visited me in Nashville in the fall of 1997. We were both editors of underground publications. We had met briefly at a restaurant in D.C., three years earlier. In that cruddy little apartment on Evelyn Avenue, … Continue reading
It’s Spring
The golden strandOf the ceremonial stringCalls out beyond intelligence: it’s spring. Spring is never happy,Spring is always dull.It’s a lie that flowers bloom and the yellow moon shines bright upon the earth. It’s a lie. Fools play in the fields.They … Continue reading
High School Biometrics
A long time ago, I graduated from Appomattox County High School. Things were simpler then. Not better, but simpler. Maybe different is the right word. This was before the horrors of Columbine, before the War on Terror, before internet bullying, … Continue reading
The Horror
As dictated by the letter X, I liked Stephen King as a teenager. I read Firestarter, Pet Sematary, Thinner, and two short story collections. Pet Sematary was first-rate horror. It contained one of the most terrifying sentences in modern literature: … Continue reading
My Tandy
To quote Milhouse, “I’m not a nerd…nerds are smart.” I don’t even know the difference between nerds and geeks. Yet, I have no problem calling myself a vintage computer geek. In its day, the Tandy 1000SX was one of the … Continue reading
A Calm Place
My Dad liked to travel. He and I took two vacations down the East Coast several years ago. I was sleep deprived, so I didn’t drive much. I wish I had done more driving with all the trouble we had … Continue reading
The James River Greens
At one time, I fancied myself an expert on politics. I was an infomaniac, a news junkie. Every weekday, I would watch two local newscasts, Tom Brokaw, and the MacNeil / Lehrer News Hour. My favorite show was Washington Week … Continue reading
Strange Energy
Through high school and the college days, I heard whisperings of a New Age complex in the next county over, Buckingham. I would make deliveries to Buckingham for the family office supply business. There was one small sign on the … Continue reading
In the Shenandoah Valley
I went to visit friends in Williamsburg, Virginia. There was a lot of American Revolution history there. They had the neatest visitor center—they even had a movie in a theater. The woman at the help desk was perfect—she gave me … Continue reading
The Flower that Became a Boy
On a mild Wednesday evening in August of 1970, I was born. My first home was a ranch house with a full basement in Greely, Colorado. I was the youngest of six. My only sister had three older brothers and … Continue reading
