She’s not Big Brother, but Deb Naybor has nonetheless been watching them: twenty-seven women from the village of Nakagongo, Uganda, who have carried with them GPS units that track their movements and Deb, back near Buffalo, New York, has followed them via satellite. Now she’s showing up in Nakagongo to find out just where these […]
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Uganda Journal: The Bethlehem School
Our van stops a few yards outside the gate, and our driver, Herman, tells us it’s okay to get out. In front of us, a hundred schoolchildren have gathered to greet us. They sing and jump and clap in rhythm. At the lead are two teenage girls with shaved heads and with lions’ manes tied […]
Uganda Journal: the road
The road to Bethlehem runs through jungles and slums and Seussian forests, past packed-mud houses and tethered goats, from Uganda’s capital of Kampala through hilly countryside, 90 miles southwest, to Kyotera. There, at an intersection crowded with vendors tending small cookfires and grills, where the roadsides are choked with motorcycles, a dirt road spits away […]
Uganda Journal: the arrival
I wake up to the indistinct sounds of people chattering and a continent’s worth of bird chirping, or so it seems. I hear someone’s rooster crow every once in a while off in the distance, but it’s 9 a.m., so he’s probably been at work for a while now and I’ve been ignoring him all […]
Uganda Journal: Into my Heart of Darkness
In the morning, I leave for Africa. Specifically, I’m heading to Uganda for twelve days, for reasons that still remain vague to me beyond “I’m going to write about being in Africa.” That’s all the reason I really need, though: Africa has been a bucket-lister for me for as long as I can remember. I’ve written […]
Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more
Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas This is the third consecutive year that my family members have chosen not to exchange Christmas gifts. In 2010, we shifted away from this material side of the holiday in […]
It’s the end of the world: how will you spend it?
As you probably already know, the world ends tomorrow. If you didn’t know this, you might want to Google “Mayan calendar” and start getting right with Jesus. Anyhow, the end of the world is a pretty big deal, and we’d like to know how you plan on spending it. Also, we want to know how […]
It’s a short-roped world
I have managed to sell and publish five books. However, despite critical raves, most didn’t sell well. This year I decided to reboot. My agent and I parted ways (who fired whom is a little murky) and I enrolled in an MFA program in creative writing. There are two types of MFA programs. Residence programs […]
Carrying burdens
When Americans practice good posture, many of us try walking a straight line while balancing a book on our heads. The Rwandese can do better than that. They can balance an entire bucket full of stacked apples on their heads and walk miles up and down unpaved hills. Historically, carrying on the head has also […]
I rafted the Nile
Last weekend, I went white water rafting on Uganda’s Nile River. Fear filled my bones for days leading up to the trip, along with most of the five-hour voyage down the mighty waterway. But, I refused to leave Africa without exploring this historically famous river. So, I did it. I rafted the Nile. White water […]
Words of my Rwanda life
Goats Everywhere Banana trees Cover the hills Motorcycles Most popular mode of transportation Bare black baby butts Seen frequently around neighborhoods Hills Not a single part of Rwanda without them Carrying on the head The large items locals can balance continues to baffle me Dirt roads Main roads paved, side roads not AK-47 rifles All security and neighborhood guards carry them Tropical fruit Mango, […]
Big Meadow in the crepuscular hour
It’s the time of change. Autumn. Dusk. 6:40 p.m. The crepuscular hour. Everything’s on the cusp of being something else. I don’t know what has compelled me to drive to Big Meadow tonight. Shenandoah National Park is an hour away from where I’m staying in Chancellorsville this weekend, and Big Meadow is a half an […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- Profiling the Tea Party: In defense of the IRS. Sorta. Or not.
- Saturday Video Roundup: “Imagine the Band,” by John Lennon and Wings
- The Rest is Noise (6)—Descent into the Maelstrom
- I hate handguns, but I have still considered owning one
- Redneck jokes are racist
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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wufnik: I tend to agree. There are a couple of other thing…
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Samuel Smith: For two times in two tries you have attempted to d…
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Jim Booth: May be much to what you say, here, Wuf. Think abou…
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Frank Dilatush: Interesting Sam, I thought I spoke _directly_ to t…
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