Trips By Sam

          Last Christmas, I received a page-a-day calendar featuring Patricia Schultz's  1000 Places to See Before You Die .  "A YEAR OF TRAVEL" the box top banner proclaimed.           I scoffed.  Travel?  From the confines of a desk?  It's porn for wannabes with wanderlust who will never leave their cushy chairs and only see these places from Pinterest boards.  I brainstormed potential re-gift recipients, as such bulky weight would be untoutable in my backpack, but by January 2nd tore through the plastic to appreciate Hoi An's floral charm.  Maybe I could stop there after Japan... But would I have enough time before Anna's July wedding?  I mused, and saved the page in my desk drawer with a rapidly growing collection of New Zealand peaks and Zanzibar markets.             Lo, 365-thousand days later, I've ripped each page to a chorus of 2020's cackling. ...

           It’s in these darkest days of the year that I confront the parts of me that I’d rather bury in a junk drawer alongside takeout menus.  The method suffices for but a bit before it all must be emptied, addressed, and organized.     One part of me wants to work out, eat vegan, and meditate.   One part of me wants to binge  The Office , eat sugar, and booze.     One part of me sees this inner turmoil as the greatest battle I’ll ever face.    One part of me doesn’t care about my white-privilege, stay-at-home-(dog)-mom probs.     Too often we attempt to disown the dark ones, as it’s easier bury them in hate than love.  The compulsion, impatience, meanness, jealousy, ____________ is a shadow that wants to be loved again; to be invited to the table; to be of service; to be fed one way or another.  And, unlike the expired coupons and near-empty pens in the junk drawer, these d...