bird by bird

by Matt Mason Dad would come home after too long at work and I'd sit on his lap to hear the story of Ferdinand the Bull; every night, me handing him the red book until I knew every word, couldn't read, just recite along with drawings of a gentle bull, frustrated matadors, the all-important bee, and flowers— flowers in meadows and flowers thrown by the Spanish ladies. Its lesson, really, about not being what you're born into but what you're born to be, even if that means not caring about the capes they wave in your face or the spears they cut into your shoulders. And Dad, wonderful Dad, came home after too long at work and read to me the same story every night until I knew every word, couldn't read, just recite.

GG introduced me, and I can't stop listening. 

I'm so excited that my favorite grad school girl and soul sister is coming to my city for the weekend! I wanted to blast this news all over my social media this morning.. Facebook it and tweet it and Instagram it .. but KG is too cool for such mediums. She does read this cob-webby 'ol thang from time to time though, so I figured I could express my excitement here. I GET TO SEE YOU SO SOON, KG!!! My relationship to KG is similar to what I imagine relationships are like between Vietnam veterans who fought together in the war and came out on the other side. I admit that this may be a slightly insensitive comparison. KG and I did not fight in war together, but we did go to grad school together. We taught English 101 to bratty freshman together, and we [barely] survived a brutal South Dakota winter together. We read a ton of books and wrote a ton of papers and were mildly depressed for the winter of 2009/10. Thank GAWD for funk nights at Carey's and boxed wine...