Heavy Sleeper

“I’ve had to talk to you about this too many times, David,” she said. “I’m sorry, but you’re fired.” Mrs. … More

Hope

Memorization came easily for her, and at her first awarenessof this, she assumed everyone had been born equally able.As she … More

Passed

Someday, the old man thought, when I’m very old, someday whenthe migrating Red Teals soar southward over good old Milwaukeeheading … More

Expertise

He does not perform his work with the armchair ease you mightsuspect when it comes to paper pushing. True, he … More

Experiment

I will create one body for usWe squeezed so close togetherYou’ll suddenly findWe’re inside one another No matter the nay-sayersI … More

A Colder Spring

With the coming winter we spoke far less.You wanted something more than us.I watched the new chill frost the air, … More

Heritage Song

We Koreans converge on Hawai‘i Theatre tonight,all bows and the scent of garlic-laced dinners, lots of quick head nods and Annyeong … More

Aloha Shirt Man

I’m sure I don’t have the largest collection of Aloha shirts in the world, but I do have the largest … More

Old Acquaintance

It’s been a long, long time since we three got together to drink beer. Each of us says that he … More

Violence

When he’d done something wrong, Jerry wouldn’t go home. “Wrong” could be a poor class proficiency report from school or … More

For a Moment

They’re all young, blonde university students,have an intelligent look, wear sweatshirts,NYU, Brown, Syracuse, places that requireacademic effort prior to entry, … More

Will you honor this price? he asks

In my record store days, so hard to forget the bad,mostly race-related incidents back in the wild Midwest,haunting me when … More

Being Free

I’m back home from my trip to Korea,watching the election returns, the right to vote,a cornerstone of our democracy, a … More

I Am Photo Man

If you’d ask me 20 years ago how I felt about phones,I’d have said something along the lines of them … More

Karma Tranquilizer

Our guide says jet lag should never be a problemif we know the proper way to deal with it.Without realizing … More

That Other World

Darkness never bothered me, even as a kid.It’s what might be hiding there that’s worrying. My mother always told me … More

Hygiene Conscious

The moment Keoki touched it, he wished he hadn’t grabbed the overhead handrail. Someone had left behind a trace of … More

Of Two Minds

As I approach I’m first struck by the enormous rose quartz rock, a natural monument crag,that marks Ralph Waldo Emerson’s … More

What in the World? (aka WTF?)

I’m on my way home, flying from China to Honolulu,and I post this newsy tidbit on my Facebook page.Not that … More

Softening Music

Grampa sits on the porch rockingHums songs from back in the day when he sang themFull-throated, lung-topped and smiling breathlesslyFeeling … More