Out of Milk

Manyu took a four-day trip to Chicago and left me without a car. She also left me without milk. There was a half carton of soy (I won’t even call it milk) in the refrigerator, but that’s a different food group from dairy and has no place on my Cheerios. I’d made sure...

Another Autumn of Swans

The most memorable animal sightings are the unexpected ones. The first whale I ever saw breached not fifty yards from where I stood on the steps of the Point Reyes lighthouse. Not as spectacular, but just as surprising, I once stared into an evening campfire on an...

Big Move

For the past week, I have been helping my nephew Xiao Tu with his applications for college. For one of his required essays, he’s been asked to describe an obstacle he’s had to overcome. Xiao Tu moved from Taiwan to the United States when he was six years and did not...
Steven Simpson