Thomas Wolfe didn’t think you can go home again. This weekend, I’m going to find out if he was right. The photo is what I looked like at seventeen, when I lived in Hood River, Oregon, a small town on the south bank of the Columbia River. I spent most of my high school years … Read more
Looking back on some favorite memories from 2016… January: A fan,Kate Olsen, took this photo of me on the sly. The coffee shop is one of the many where I sit and write very early every morning. I love the photo. It reminds me of one of my favorite paintings, Hopper’s “Nighthawks.” February: A full … Read more
I admit it. This morning I cried. I’m in Boston for the New England Crime Bake, a great mystery conference coming up this weekend. I came to Boston early so that I could experience this place that, in so many ways, is the birthplace of American democracy. Today, I walked the Freedom Trail, which … Read more
Looking back on some favorite memories from 2015… February: My wife snapped this photo while we were in Door County, Wisconsin. That’s frozen Lake Michigan in the background. March: I stopped for a couple of days in Oklahoma to visit family here. Here I am beneath a statue of Standing Bear, the great chief of the Ponca Nation, … Read more
Kent Swimming WARNING: Anyone with a prudish bone in their body SHOULD NOT watch this video. So, here’s the story. I’m in Carlsbad, New Mexico, for a cousin reunion and a bit of a vacation. This is an area of the country that has appealed to me forever, but I haven’t had the opportunity to … Read more