Conversations on El Camino

Six months ago, I brought my car to the shop and was informed the repairs would take four hours. I live two hours from the city, so I took a loaner vehicle and set off to kill time. I went for a hike, reveling in the crisp single digit temps as I ascended the heights…

"You're fired." On a July Sunday morning some fifteen years ago, those were the most blessed words I ever heard. We'd pulled another late night in the camp office, and were now bleary-eyed and rushing to get things organized for another busy registration period that afternoon. The to-do list was long, but the two-woman office…

It was an exceptionally lovely spring day in northern Wisconsin. The March sun was unimpeded by clouds, using its waxing power to steadily shrink the whale-sized snowbanks bordering every parking lot. I grew drowsy in the upstairs seating of the cozy coffee shop, reveling in conversation with sisters on a slow morning. From our upstairs…