William Lobb's Blog, page 19
August 4, 2019
El Paso, or was it Dayton…
I try to be a moderate in most things. I’ve supported my friends and family who are gun enthusiasts—and not insane white nationalists—but that shit is wearing thin. I don’t want the government to take away the guns of my sportsman friends any more than I want the government to ban bicycles and Mustangs. But, […]
July 28, 2019
From The Berry Pickers…
Staring at my grandfather, holding my tongue; I need to drink in this hot July. I need to stop and taste each drop of sweat. I need to feel my skin burn crisp in the hot-high sun. I need the July-burning wind, raging maple’s leaves upturned betraying the coming storm. It’s ninety-six degrees at sunrise, […]
July 21, 2019
Unplugged and Alive
My dad had a deep and abiding respect for shade and ’51 Ford Shoebox convertible vent windows. I’m quite sure he never slept a night of his life in air conditioning. While I never did come across bad shade, I accompanied him many days on the quest for good shade. Expansive oak trees seemed to […]
July 16, 2019
A Long Day, in a Small Town, by a River, Somewhere
Early September 2017, Newburgh, NY My name is Jesse, but it didn’t use to be. I had another name once, but I don’t even say it to myself anymore. It makes me miss who I was. One day, entirely against my wishes, the guy I’d been for the first twenty-five years of my life could no longer exist. That […]
A Long Day, in a Small Town, by a River, Somewhere.
Early September 2017, Newburgh, NY My name is Jesse, but it didn’t use to be. I had another name once, but I don’t even say it to myself anymore. It makes me miss who I was. One day, entirely against my wishes, the guy I’d been for the first twenty-five years of my life could no longer exist. That […]
July 13, 2019
Thinking on New Orleans…
New Orleans has a street off Jackson Square called Pirates Alley. Jean Lafitte and his brother, Pierre, used to haunt there. So did Andrew Jackson, who never could’ve mustered the human decency required to be a pirate. William Faulkner lived there too, on what was once a dirt path by one of the great churches, […]
July 4, 2019
Greetings from America, July 4th 2019
Enjoy your patriotic holiday. As you salute the flag, and watch the fireworks, and eat hot dogs and fill your heart with the pride of what it means to be an American—Please do an equally American thing—at least it was at one time, an American thing—and think of those who suffer under torturous regimes world […]
July 2, 2019
Dead Presidents, and Others
Two guys I care about got into it pretty bad yesterday. I made me think about the Presidents of my lifetime. There was never any love from me for any of them. Maybe at times an allegiance, never worship, never adulation. My father hated Kennedy with a passion. I started to become aware during Nixon. […]
June 30, 2019
Ma
Ma can hardly feed herself, even if her food is cut into little pieces. It’s a mess, more finds it’s way to her lap and the floor than her mouth. Sometimes she forgets she’s eating and falls asleep. She tried to tell me today that the pretty blonde girl brought her ice cream. After about […]
June 29, 2019
Willin’t
I read an articles about the decline of the outlaw truckers this morning. Every time I get out on the highway and I get tangled in with a bunch of semi’s I can’t help but think about some of the guys I used to know. I look in the windows of the trucks as I’m […]
