Without a hitch 👍

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Narrative nonfiction

The shirt off my back

I was once asked for the shirt off my back. It was in Wanganui, outside Big Orange café. The sun tanned the pavement bricks, the breeze ruffled the petals of flowers in hanging baskets, and Ben Crotty asked if I would give him the shirt off my back. It was

Dear Mr/Mrs Burglar

There have been a lot of burglaries around here lately. Mostly laptops and desktop computers, and of those, mostly Macs. People do love the apple. I composed a note and left it on my desk, in anticipation of a break-in while I’m out. Dear Mr/Mrs Burglar, Sorry, but

(Don't) grab life by the balls

I find that being told you can’t do something is infinitely more motivating than being told you can. A while ago I was at the beach, where I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was considering a career change. He snorted and remarked, “What would you become?

Solo expedition

Parenthood is a pilgrimage. You can buy the maps, listen to directions, get a compass, consult manuals, but really you can’t prepare for it. The terrain of your day will be forever changed, and it will keep changing. A new child is a wonderful, adorable, blissful punch in the

Walk the walk

Most people walk, although many don't walk enough. United, we are a great walking shoal of fish. Some yearn for speed, slicing through the water. Others float idly; they catch the bus from one end of the street to another. My dad and uncle are the sailfish racers

Too much

You are moving. You are transferring the things that stick to you, like pills on a very large jersey, from one location to another. Unless you are that guy from the office who takes everything off his desk home with him every day, then unpacks it and realigns it the

Stitches in the heart

You won’t easily find it on the map, but Savill Bay is there, nestled deep within the Sounds. Your heart remembers the lessons Savill Bay taught you. Each one is embroidered on the lining of your heart, some elegantly woven, others crudely stitched. The bay taught you to be