My annual account of books read over the year. Happy to have taken in so much good stuff! Nearly doubled last year’s total with 67 completed titles and a nice mix of genres. Top reads are in bold. Enjoy! JANUARY Walking: One Step at a Time (NF) by Erling Kagge: A reread to get the year started. Musings on life and movement. Every time I … Continue reading Books Read in 2021
On January 3, 2022, I am moving out of my apartment and starting my long drive from Spokane, WA to Carrboro, NC (via Los Angeles). I purchased a cargo van specifically for this move, and in order to get all my things in it I need to downsize a bit. My virtual garage sale has been unexpectedly successful at lightening my load, and the money … Continue reading Farewell, Little Buddy
I read a lot. And this year I’ve been devouring books depicting the exploits of various thru-hikers and adventurers. Grandma Gatewood on the AT, Cheryl Strayed on the PCT, Erling Kagge in the sewers beneath New York City. Each hiker’s story, though often on the same trail, is an entirely different experience. I’m currently reading Thirst by Heather “Anish” Anderson. I’ve only just started it—about … Continue reading Getting Got
I’ve recently been thinking a lot about what it means to want a thing. Probably because for the past few weeks I’ve been exploring the options that might successfully move me and my household goods across the nation. Sadly, like everything these days, any transportation-related service isn’t cheap. A U-Haul truck that cost me $3000 when I moved to Spokane in 2020 is currently priced … Continue reading Musings Over a Van
Part 1: Preparation I regularly pull a tarot card to ascertain a new perspective on everyday predicaments. As I shuffle the deck I meditate on a question. What do I need to know about _____? What viewpoint am I missing in regards to _____? I then let intuition tell me when to stop rearranging the cards and confidently choose one. The one that feels right. … Continue reading Rim to Almost Rim to Rim
DAY 21 Today I headed south. Left downtown and climbed up up up along High Drive, Latah Creek to my right. I imagined this land before modern development. Steep bluffs and exposed basalt left behind by prehistoric cataclysmic floods. Bald eagles on bare branches, antlered elk scrubbing through shrubs, marmots anxiously absorbing midday sun. I made a note to learn what this area was named … Continue reading Every Street Spokane: Days 21-25
DAY 16 Every Wednesday of 2021 I’ve exchanged poems with a dear friend. We started this project with no definitive rules, but I’ve since applied some to my side of the trade-off: First, I don’t write the poem until Wednesday morning. I want it to be a snapshot of the moment I sit down to write it. Second, I don’t qualify the poem’s content. Which … Continue reading Every Street Spokane: Days 16-20
DAY 11 These walks are beginning to resemble my ultra training. Back in those days I’d do long runs back-to-back without giving my body the time to fully recover. I’d run twenty-five or so on a Saturday, then a similar distance on Sunday. This would trick my body into thinking I did the two-day total all at once. Some people run 26.2 as a training … Continue reading Every Street Spokane: Days 11-15
DAY 5 I like making stickers then sticking them all over town. Any flat surface will do, though I tend to be a back-of-sign and not-on-private-property guy. I’ve gotten pretty good at it, too. I used to wait until the sun went down and my heart would race as I rushed to peel the back, stick it on, and erratically flatten out the air bubbles. … Continue reading Every Street Spokane: Days 6-10
Tom Griffen 