Ryan Spires

November encroaches, promising colder, longer nights and days riddled with turkey. Both of which I shall embrace. One November event I have typically avoided is NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. The goal is straightforward. In the month of November, you try to clock in 50,000 words, approaching the lower bounds of a novel's word count. Hence, the title of the event. I write Monday through Friday in the morning for an hour or two, but I'm a slower type of gent (using the term loosely) averaging anywhere from 300 to 1k. The daily target for NaNoWriMo is 1,667. I tried one year and didn't bust out of the 20's. So you can see why I hesitate a little. I even told my writing group just a few days ago, that I did not intend to embark upon that train wreck again. But here I am, thinking about it. Envisioning the word count piling up, the inspired ideas, the hated jock, at his locker with a small smile on his face,starting the slow clap that quickly envelopes the ...

What should an introverted homebody lacking any semblance of direction sense, with a slight fear of driving, do with a week of vacation? Why, go a road trip of course! My mother re-located to the southwest and I had yet to visit her new home. Rachael thought we should take advantage of the opportunity, and instead of the standard few hour flight, turn it into an asphalt adventure and cure some of our geographical ignorance. When it comes to geographical considerations, I am, simply put, a moron. My third-grade memorization of the states and their capitals has grown thick with cobwebs, and sadly was never supplemented with additional knowledge. A few years back I started upon the Shelby Foote's brilliant civil war narrative, and was forced to consult a map tirelessly due to my ignorance. We rolled away from Saint Paul on a cool and crisp (how else to describe a MN morning?) on October 3rd. Our first day was designed to ease into the trip, with a pause in Des Moines to vis...