Wearin’, seein’, and drinkin’ o’ the green
From the Fourth of July on the steps of the Capitol with Dad, to my first New Years Eve party here in Chicago with Mom (yes, with Mom), this year has been one of celebrating holidays that I normally ignore. (I’m boring. I can’t help it.) Last week, I checked off another unlikely celebration: St. [...]
The Billings kids eat Chicago
I’ve been in Chicago long enough now (six months!) that it seems odd to me to realize that only 3/4 of my immediate family has been to visit me. My brother, stuck in his last semester of college, hadn’t made it out to my new flyover state home — until yesterday. He and fifteen of [...]
Thousand-mile pancakes
Sludge and I went home. We had to think about the case. I made pancakes for myself. I gave Sludge a bone. —Nate the Great and the Stolen Base Nate the Great was one of my most-loved books as a child. (Or maybe it was my dad’s most-loved book. I’m not exactly sure.) Whenever the [...]
Like little balls of sunshine
The Blossom Trail — a 60-some mile stretch through the Central Valley’s orchards — is just starting to kick into gear this time of year. There will be stretches of peach, almond, apricot and plum trees in almost impossibly bright shades for the next month or so. But first, before any of them, come the [...]