Epiphany of Fatherhood

“…parenthood is not an exact science, but a vexed privilege and a blessed trial, absolutely necessary and not altogether possible.” —Wendell Berry She cries. I cry, but not for the same reasons. “You want to hold her?” they ask. Do I want to hold my baby girl! I reach her away and it takes me five…

Nonsense

It’s a post-Covid waiting room with all the magazines gone, the television and radio playing simultaneously. I have an ear cocked to the radio and an eye to the television while passively consuming these media like a decent citizen. On the television: “Eggs are not a dairy product.” Is that why they call them chicken…

Book Review: Backcast by Lou Ureneck

Without bothering to read the blurb or scan the book, I checked out from the public library Backcast: Fatherhood, Fly-fishing, and a River Journey Through the Heart of Alaska by Lou Ureneck. I expected something easy; some quasi-philosophical reflections on fly-fishing, perhaps a handful of insights about parenting. The Alaskan wilderness is always ripe for such comments.…