Month: January 2023

People say lots of stupid things. I think we can all agree on that, though I’ve noticed people don’t always agree on what qualifies as stupid. Not that any of you primates ever stops saying more things, though. You all are a chatty bunch. The stupid thing I hear most frequently (Note 1), residing as…

Mom always told me not to pick my scabs. I never listened: faint, predictable pain was almost pleasure, was far better than feeling nothing. I miss the coppery taste and gummy mouthfeel of scab chunks peeled from my knees and elbows, miss watching my blood ooze from carefully preserved wounds, mix with summer sweat, and…

Radios blare from stalls all over the market. Norteño music competes with banda, a fast-talking DJ promotes a livestock auction, and a mariachi trumpet offers a wordless lament that is nearly drowned out by the festive babble of families and friends chatting and laughing as they breakfast on quesadillas made with blue-corn tortillas, steaming tamales,…