FROM THE FIELD
Dispatches from someone who learned the hard way.
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August 8, 2026
Kicking Trees
Read More →Around fifteen years old, I was spending damn near all my free time practicing martial arts. It wasn’t a hobby. It was a compulsion. If I had a spare moment — a gap of boredom, an afternoon with nothing in it — I filled it with training. Hundreds of kicks per leg, every day. Deep […]
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August 4, 2026
They Meant It for Evil
Read More →“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” — Genesis 50:20 (KJV) I want to be clear: I struggle with my faith. I am in no way trying to pretend that I am a […]
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July 29, 2026
The Walk to Target
Read More →Let me tell you about the day going to Target broke me open. I was at the halfway house in El Monte, California. And one of the small privileges you get there is that you’re allowed to walk to the nearby Target to buy basic hygiene products. Toothpaste. Soap. The unglamorous stuff. By yourself. Alone. […]
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July 22, 2026
I’m a Janitor
Read More →I had two goals I set for myself before I turned 30: buy my first house, and buy a Ferrari. That was it. That was the whole scoreboard. And I worked like an animal and I hit both of them. On paper, that’s a win. I should’ve been thrilled.
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July 14, 2026
The Company I Built in My Head
Read More →I sat in a large, empty room with a high ceiling, fluorescent bulbs fifteen feet above my head. It was incredibly loud. There were two TVs in there. One was controlled by one of the South Sider gangs. The other was controlled by the Pacific Islanders. Both running at the same time, both groups turning […]
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July 8, 2026
Into the Lion’s Den
Read More →I remember the air was warm. I’m sitting on the patio of a friend’s house, looking out over his backyard, untamed wildlife in the background. The air was still. It was late in the afternoon, the sun starting to set, and my friend, who I was enjoying a cigar with, casually mentioned that I should […]
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July 2, 2026
Hope Is a Drug Worth Sharing
Read More →Hope is a drug worth sharing. I’m standing in line to get food. If you’ve never had to do it, let me tell you — it’s a miserable experience. This isn’t a restaurant. This isn’t a choice. When you stand in line waiting for chow that is government food provided by the lowest bidder, this […]
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June 29, 2026
The Day I Cursed God on a Hill
Read More →I want to tell you about the lowest point of my life. Not prison. People always assume it was prison. It wasn’t. The lowest point came before that, on a small hill not far from my house, where I dropped to my knees on the rocks and screamed at God until my voice gave out. […]
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June 22, 2026
The Money in the Trash Can
Read More →I was a garbage man in federal prison. That was one of my jobs. I rode on the back of a trash truck and picked up garbage. And not just anywhere. I picked up trash at the houses of the people who worked there. The guards. The staff. They lived right there on the prison […]
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June 16, 2026
The 3 A.M. Phone Call
Read More →It’s just after 3:00 a.m., and my phone rings. The room is dark. The air conditioning is running. It’s cold. I’m in Hawaii, and she’s in California — so it’s already 6:00 a.m. her time. And I see my wife’s name on the screen, which is unusual, because nobody calls you at 3 a.m. with […]