Home of Brad Willis: writer, traveler, and suburban warrior
When it’s hard to believe in anything, it seems silly to believe in fate. It’s a fanciful concept built on hope, acquiescence, or desperation. Yet, I can find no other reason we ever met,...
I was beginning to wish we’d never seen the fish. I wished that the sun had set, dirty faces have been washed, and I was drinking a cold one on the back porch. I...
I’ll be honest. By the time the boy we call Dos came into the world, I’d forgotten a lot about what it took to be the parent of an infant or toddler. I’d forgotten...
I was in my mid-teens before I realized that most people did not put peanut butter on their pancakes. Or waffles. Or French toast. This fact, mundane as it may seem, was eventually cause...
Every weekday morning at 7:30am on the nose, John Smith (not his real name) gets up from the same spot on his bed. He showers with a clean wash cloth, washes under the same...
I never can remember whether I’m sinning in South Carolina. The target for sin is one that moves and not in a way you’d expect. You’re more apt to run right into the bullseye...
I’m often inspired by my friends. In the past week, two people I’m proud to call buddies have written some very personal stories. At first I wondered if I was so touched by both...
Moments ago, my wife and I were having a discussion about cleaning products. Since we’ve had kids, my wife’s idea of a household cleaner is vinegar mixed with water. Or, if it’s a really...
If the earth had not shook, I would be in Vina del Mar, Chile right now. I would be tired, watching people play poker, and writing about it with all my heart. I’d be...
That I can win anything in the world of sports prediction is a testament to its ridiculousness. I am not a sports bettor, like those guys seen in an Oddsmonkey review. There’s nothing wrong...
“He probably has a whole generation of writers getting drunk and wondering why they can’t write like that.” –Roger Ebert on Charles Bukowski. In sitcoms the sound of a screeching phonograph needle has taken...
Part of taking a few days to spend with a couple dozen of you closest friends is that you need a few days to rest and and catch up on real life after it’s...
This morning I awoke to a text from Al. “Bad beat,” he wrote. “Room won’t be ready until 3pm.” He’d been on the road all night and hadn’t slept. The hotel at which he...
Guilt is a byproduct of selfishness. Guilt, that tightness around the heart and lump in the throat, reminds us that, but for satisfying our own wants and desires, we might not have overlooked something...