“Go the trail” demands the weathered wooden sign. We laugh, amused at the awkward translation of “sigue el camino” while simultaneously finding it to be touchingly poetic and vaguely like a mantra uttered by a mystical mountain sage. Continue reading Go the Trail
In August of 2021 I started working for a nonproft which is part of the Effective Altruism (EA) movement. If i had to describe EA, its like a the nicest possible cult – in which people are completely obsessed with finding the best possible ways to make the world a better place. In any case, … Continue reading Writing about my job: Operations Manager
“What do you want?” Jesus turns to ask when he sees me following Him. “Peace,” I start to say, but then realize it isn’t true… “Prestige…admiration- to be liked- to have unlimited motivation and energy to do the things I want….to be a bit skinnier….” These are actually the things I want. It’s embarrassing, but … Continue reading The offer.
I showed up to college as a suburban homeschooler ready for her new life, finally free of over-present parents. Kate was from rural NY, a world full of pickup trucks and so much country music. We met at Highlander, Houghton’s freshman wilderness adventure program, and although we didn’t become good friends then, there is a … Continue reading A friendship that has held my hand for a lifetime.
On February 16 I will set out with my dearest friend, Alana, to complete the Trans Ecuador Mountain Bike Route, stretching from the northern border with Colombia, winding up and over mountains, through rural landscapes, past Ecuador’s glacier-capped volcanos, all the way down to the tropical southern border with Peru. We will pedal our bikes … Continue reading A Manifesto
Where were you last year on this date? At the start of 2020, when we were all still blissfully unaware of the year to come – of all the fears and tragedies (both real and imagined) we were yet to go through? What were your hopes and dreams? I know they did not include words like lockdown, social distancing, and zoom fatigue. Continue reading home life
I didn’t speak to the woman who died, but our eyes met momentarily and we shared one of those shy smiles you do with a stranger….Neither of us knew that in only a few hours she would die. Continue reading The fragile, butterfly beauty of life
i notice my youth is slowly slipping away… Continue reading the woman we were to become
Visiting home. I just spent the two weeks staying with my grandma in Oceanside, NY. That’s on Long Island, and if you aren’t from the area, you probably don’t know it, but there is a certain accent that people from Looong Island have, sort of nasal, extra guttural stops. But I’m terrible at mimicking accents, … Continue reading Grandma Louise
I am sitting on a balcony in Banos, obstinately with the goal of ‘working’. Instead I will count the sounds happening on the street below me. A world of activity just out of view. High pitched hum of a little Suzuki motorbike Happy Trumpet notes from a salsa song on the radio “Dona Moooni – … Continue reading the sounds of life
Wandering Joy 