Winter Theme Week: Why Is Falling So Funny?

This week, we’re celebrating the holiday by looking at some favorite wintry posts. On Feb 26, 2013, Christie considered why falling [for example, in the snow] is so funny. The other morning while we were walking our dogs, my husband slipped on some snow and fell down in front of me. One moment he was […]

Outdoors After Dark

This post originally ran on November 11, 2014. It’s 6 am on an early November morning, and I am tiptoeing up a juniper hillside with a rifle slung over my shoulder. I’m following Adam, my friend and guide, when suddenly he stops. “Listen.” It’s still completely dark, except for the sea of stars above us, […]

Pink Is Not Her Color

    * It’s October, which means pink ribbons everywhere you turn. These breast cancer awareness campaigns can be hopeful and empowering, but they can also be deceptive and unscientific and can mask the realities of what it means to live with cancer. Catherine Guthrie’s new memoir, FLAT: Reclaiming My Body From Breast Cancer offers […]

Ed Marston Showed Up

The end of summer is always a little sad, but this year it felt especially so. During the last three days of August, three people I care about died unexpectedly. I want to tell you about one of them. Ed Marston died of complications from West Nile virus on August 31. The last time I saw […]

Redux: Spoetry

Damn, where did the summer go? I’m off this week to enjoy the last of it, and I hope you’ll take some time away from the internet too. But since you’re here, please enjoy this spoetry, courtesy of LWON’s spammers.  It’s commenter appreciation day here at Last Word on Nothing. If you’ve ever wondered why […]

Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves

The news that Aretha Franklin is gravely ill hit me like a punch in the gut. I’m not sure I realized it until that moment, but she provided an important anthem for my teenage years. Decades later, I can still remember how my high school girls track team would blast Franklin’s rendition of “Respect” on […]