Two birds make a regular appearance at the feeder just outside my front window. Cardinals. The large, red male abruptly lands, then precariously stands atop the dangling cage as he leans beyond his feet to manage a bit from the diminishing suet. He hollers endlessly, chirping as as he swings from the chain, his weight shifting, his footing anything but steady. He pecks at the … Continue reading Togetherness
Back in late February, I left my home in Carrboro, NC and drove cross country to Portland, OR. I temporarily settled in the Rose City and am working a long-term, on-site consulting contract with one of my premier clients. Upon arrival, I tried to incorporate book-writing into my daily schedule. But unlike writers who work their manuscript into a busy life, I shelved my work-in-progress … Continue reading Book Status And More
During the first week of January 2018 I am beginning a walk across the United States. I’m starting in Santa Monica, California and ending with a belly flop in the Atlantic ocean – the exact finish location will be determined by the ordeal’s six-ish months of unknown variables. But if I had to predict it, I’d guess somewhere in New England. Maine, maybe. My why … Continue reading I’m Walking Across the USA
The previous night I stuffed my backpack with items I plan to lug across the country between January and June 2018. And though the contents added up to nearly 30 pounds, they mostly resembled what I’d haul on a two night, no-frills camping trip. The basic essentials including a day’s worth of high-calorie snacks and 6 total liters of water. Turns out one liter of … Continue reading Walking to RDU – Well, Almost
I wrap up my brief, impromptu México City visit with a blog written in the same format as part 1. Once again, I leave feeling super humbled by all the city offers. This time around, not only did I write months of new material in a week, I also sought out moments of purposeful vulnerability. Now it’s time to leave, but I’m not ready to … Continue reading Leave Home to Get Home
Inspired by Kenneth Rexroth’s One Hundred Poems From the Japanese, I’ll tell part one of my México City visit in a similar form. I begin, however, with one from the Rexroth collection: I have always known That at last I would Take this road, but yesterday I did not know that it would be today. … Continue reading D.F. Poetry of Sensibility
I stood beneath the tattered awning of a llantería and waited for the rain to let up. But it just came down harder. Streets turned into ankle-deep rivers as thunder rocked buildings. I didn’t have an umbrella, but I was wearing a parka. And though my torso was dry, five minutes in the rain had soaked my pants straight through. I pulled out my phone … Continue reading Ain’t No Drag
Love, Not Hate When I was a kid, I was pissed off. Red-faced most of the time. Anger was my default emotion and served as the stand-in for most other feelings. Frustration, sadness, embarrassment, intimidation, even happiness or appreciation were all expressed through anger in some weird way or another. Safe to say that years of therapy have helped me manage this tendency. Which doesn’t … Continue reading Carrboro to Hillsborough
After barely one mile, my left knee started to buckle. Blame it on a tight IT band, the 6 hours of yard work I did the day before, or last September’s shoddy surgery meant to get me running again (it didn’t). Whatever the case, all I could think about was failure. I freaked out, a hitch in each step. I wasn’t as concerned about turning … Continue reading Carrboro to Pittsboro
Today I knocked out a nearly 20-mile walk, following a standard local bike route from my house in Carrboro to the Saxapahaw General Store. I figured it would take a bit more than 5 hours, so to beat the heat I left at 6:45am. Scores of cyclists seemed to have adjusted their Sunday rides for similar reasons. But maybe so many out on a Sunday … Continue reading Carrboro to Saxapahaw
Tom Griffen 
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