“Do you understand me? Are you stunod?” my mother would say. Stunod. Someone who is out-of-it, spacey, not a practical person who knows that life is labor and that only the sturdy can get the job done.

I gained a friend that day, and had the bathtub cockpits of the knockabouts.

the smile of the gods

rights-of-way are usually perceived as disturbance zones that provide a habitat and corridor for non-native species.