Fiction, Essays, and Other Things

  Environment often dictates behavior and for that reason, most anywhere else I would have passed by a Buc-ee’s with little more consideration than I would have passed by any random rest area. But since its opening in Clute in 1982 and its expansion throughout and outside of Texas, Buc-ee’s has brewed such local fervor that I had to stop at its Amarillo location before departing the city. It is, to be sure, unlike any rest stop I’ve seen before. Tacky, perhaps, but not without value. Roughly the size of a smaller K-Mart, Buc-ee’s offers its own merch (hats, shirts, plush toys of its mascot, the titular beaver etc.) as well as a wide array of snacks, baked goods and take-out options. I stocked up for the road, mostly with bottled drinks and cleaning supplies, and can win the approval of any Texan I tell I’ve been to a Buc-ee’s.                                             ...

  I was particularly intrigued by Shamrock for one peculiar reason. I knew so little about Irish diaspora west of the Mississippi. I grew up in the historic stronghold of Irish immigration and since childhood was immersed in its heritage, a legacy that can be felt from Maine to Maryland. So intricately tied to the northeast have I come to see the influence of the Irish in the United States that I never conceptualized it further west. “Boston Irish” is a term that carries socio-historic implications as well as a prototype in the cultural zeitgeist. But what does it mean to be Irish in another state, far away? Shamrock was the place to find out, a city that greets visitors with a stone plaque that could have been interchangeable with any in Southie depicting a leprechaun stating “Top O’ the Mornin’ to Ya!”. Even more incongruous with a city in the Southwest is the piece of the Blarney Stone that was shipped from the Emerald Isle in 1959 and has sat in the center of town since besid...

  It was by no means by farthest journey but certainly my most ambitious in terms of preparation and demand and also my most rewarding. On paper a road trip through the heart of America from Oklahoma City to Las Vegas indicates nothing out of the ordinary, but this was a celebration of Route 66, America’s Highway or, as she is more commonly known, the Mother Road, on her centennial. Cutting from the heartland to the West Coast, this once indispensable pathway to the Pacific has fallen into neglect in the last forty years but it remains the embodiment of America from the vastness of the land to the changing landscapes, to the celebration of the American spirit and the struggles of the American experience. Pop-culture has kept it alive and though it has been decommissioned it is never empty. It is fabled more than any other road and in the story of Route 66 lies in many ways the story of America, in tragedy and triumph. I had visited parts of Route 66 before. In 2017, I visited ...

  It is amazing how much a construed perception, even if with elements of truth, can become an accepted narrative, scrutiny and reevaluation not even considered. In the case of Ulysses S. Grant and his placement in the canon of United States Presidents, how it happened is less surprising that it happened at all. Throughout the 20 th century and even early in the 21 st , Grant was consistently found just above the bottom of presidential rankings, just above Hoover and Harding. And yet, looking at the man’s last years, such a standing would seem inconceivable. This is not only because he led the Union Army to victory. In fact, a common and uncontested talking point I myself was thought in history class was that the North the Civil War in spite of Grant’s leadership. The root of such reading is not hard to see. Lee’s first mistake, after all, was simultaneously underestimating Grant and overestimating his own troops, but to suggest that Grant was a man unprepared and unschooled in...

  On September 11 th , 2001, I still had no idea where my life was going to lead me. It was my first year of college and it is safe to say my vision for the future was hazy at best. I had my aspirations and I began college with a declared major, but the realities of life were already making themselves known. The world held no promises. If my life plan was in chaos my country was about to be shaken into a darkness without a clear path forward. And yet, when the mist cleared or nation found its way, in the process rising as a new land of stronger people. In the year following the attacks I began to learn the name of some of the people who rose to heroism when a whole city was torn apart. It was not until more than twenty years later, however, that I first heard the name of Rick Rescorla, an Englishman who seemed destined to become a legend long before he even came to America. In the year since I’ve been learning about the Brit who became an American hero, Rescorla has become an ins...

  It’s no McRib in that in Dr. Frankenstein’s of the food corporate world resurrect it annually nor is it the Choco Taco that went away with much fanfare leaving behind more than a few broken hearts. No, Dunkin’s sugar raised donut became a beloved item by embracing simplicity. How best to describe it? It’s not hard. Think of the glazed donut with the sugar used on the jelly donut. That was all it was and that was all it needed to be. It was the perfect offering for when you just wanted a simple donut with added sugar. Looking back, my favorite donut said a lot about me as a child. My palette for dessert was simple. Soda was generally not brought into my home, I only ever saw Coke or Pepsi in our fridge when my parents were expecting company, and fast food was a rarity. No wonder I never developed a throbbing sweet tooth. Nonetheless, Dunkin Donuts was a frequent stop for my father who needed his caffeine before heading out to the construction site. I still recall our little in...