Some Notes from Eugene while we wait for Global Silent Book Club Week (#GSBCW) to start. Eugene might be a beautiful place full of ugly people, sometimes the ugly people get their due as evinced by the saga of Ian on Olive. A neighborhood rapscallion decided that ‘hacking the system’ meant defrauding a lowly Doordash…
Sad news from Eugene – our Frog is no longer with us. Old fart’s been around for years selling cheap joke books for a buck at different festivals and events. Most people don’t know he actually had a case argued in front of the State Supreme Court. Always wondered if that was gonna be me…
Ninety-seven degrees today in Eugene – making us the Hot, Dry, and Stupid Capital of the World – for Thursday, at least. That means swimming down in Pioneer Park. The slithy toves of Eugene will only steal cars with functional air conditioning, and hammer-wielding desperadoes require sunscreen across their bald, larcenous heads as the scope…
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They say when you can’t sleep it feels like the longest night of the year. That of course is nonsense, because tonight is the hibernal solstice, and I haven’t slept a full night since the raccoon came to town. It’s my landlady’s fault. RoseMarie refuses to put catches on the top of our trash barrels….
Today’s ‘Notes from Eugene’ is entitled: Ode to a dandelion on Mill Street. Here was a moment, and nothing else. You grew out of a crack in the sidewalk. Soft yellow petals, hardy jagged leaves. Glowing from a shaft of light in the clouds, a tiny traffic sign telling us to watch out – life…
Woke up to a smoky taste in my throat and red flag warnings across the state. Oregon is a character actor, and this week it’s playing a convincing role as Phoenix, Arizona: …EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FOR TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING… * WHAT…Dangerously hot conditions. Afternoon high temperatures of 96 to 106 expected, warmest across the…
The phone call came in on Monday – he was in a panic. “They pulled together some BS HR claim,” he said. “I just lost my job.” I sat there, disappointed but not surprised. He had always been too nice, too open, too naïve. “Shut your mouth and lawyer up.” I hung up the phone,…
Banging on my door woke me up at 4:23am on a Monday morning. “Get out here, the hot water heater’s exploded!” I jump out of bed, shivering as I step into cheap sneakers – fifty-four degrees according to the window thermometer. Steam rose from the soupy ground outside the utility room, water draining from a…
