A man with the right scruffed-up beard and breadth of chest swaggered into the S and M dungeon that was my place of business, and twenty minutes and one grand later had my chin — still soft with the downy fluff of teen-girl skin — held steady in one paw while the other one flew at my face so hard and fast that I ceased to exist as the same collection of matter I had been the previous instant.
When Sarah’s mother, Penny, got sick four years into our marriage, we decided to move back to Mississippi, considering it penance for the sins of our youth. We signed a lease on a house, a white one-story on the historical register with a wraparound porch and angels, stars, and the moon painted on the transom above the front door.
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A Test Of Our Compassion | Savannah Barnes Louisa Willcox & David Mattson On The Plight Of Grizzly Bears
Readers Write on “Nourishment” Dad’s leftover stew, the kids’ Lunchables, coffee and pie with a friend
The World We Still Have | Fred Bahnson Barry Lopez On Restoring Our Lost Intimacy With Nature
Readers Write on “Interruptions” A detour in Samoa, an encounter in a bar, a snowfall in Colorado
An Imperfect Union | Finn Cohen Astra Taylor On The Inherent Conflict Between Capitalism And Democracy
Readers Write on “The Mall” Conspicuous consumption, retail therapy, a botched makeover
Tipping Point | David Barsamian Bill McKibben On A Planet In Peril
Readers Write on “Worship” A miraculous experience, a mixed-faith couple, a big fat question mark
To Protect And To Serve? | Mark Leviton Alex S. Vitale On The Overpolicing Of America
Old School Boxing | Thom Goertel, with text by Jim Kuhnhenn A photo essay on realized potential, mental focus, well-timed footwork, and respect for your opponent
Our Fellow Americans | Mark Leviton Paul Chaat Smith On The Complex Truth Of Native American History
Rumors Of Our Demise Poems By Native American Writers
To Free Ourselves, We Must Feed Ourselves | Tracy Frisch Leah Penniman On Bringing People Of Color Back To The Land
Readers Write on “Smoking” After school, after a divorce, after an earthquake
Big Lies | David Barsamian Benjamin Carter Hett On What We Can Learn From Hitler’s Rise To Power
Readers Write on “Making Love” Under the Milky Way, after the fireworks, out of the closet
The Great Work | David Barsamian Ralph Nader On Taking Back Power From The Corporate State
Readers Write on “Beyond Belief” A ghost in the house, the police at the door, a phone call in a dream
Not So Black And White | Mark Leviton Dorothy Roberts On The Myth Of Race
Guests | Doug Winter A photo essay on the guests of Loaves & Fishes in Sacramento, California