I seem to have karma with Nebraska. Twelve years ago, before I moved to Baltimore, I lived in Lincoln, NE for a few months. Post economic crash, I wanted to be as far away from New York as I could be, physically and conceptually, so Nebraska made sense. I had honestly no preconceived notions about it other than corn. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was a pretty amazing place. While there, I had heard of Art Farm, and had intended to visit, but it took me until 2020 to do so. It did not disappoint. We arrived in October, just as the summer was fading, which turned out to be the perfect time to be there as we got to taste the breadth of the local climate, and there were very few other artists around, which allowed us to get to know the ones that were there better. Ed Dadey, director of the residency, was an inspirational presence - he kicked me off of many metaphorical ledges in the most gentle way imaginable, getting me to install drywall and siding on a house while Grace Wong, the residency coordinator, taught me how to weld. I learned to do things I never thought I could. In just two woefully short weeks, I pushed myself to the limit, skill-wise, and impressed myself with my capabilities. It was truly a life-changing experience, and I can’t wait to go back.
The Ladies of Westchester County
The kind of lady who chastises strangers on Metro North for their phone use
The kind of lady who honks the second the light turns green
The kind of lady who clutches her purse when she sees a “suspicious character”
The kind of lady who mutters profanities under her breath while waiting at the checkout line behind a family using their SNAP card
The kind of lady who calls the cops
The kind of lady who accuses you of being on drugs because you nodded off on a bench at Home Depot while waiting for your parents to finish choosing paint at 8am
The kind of lady who wants your pitbull euthanized in order to protect her dickhead jack russell (the one with a pink collar)
The kind of lady who never misses an opportunity to express her disdain for Trump
The kind of lady who drives an Audi
The kind of lady that complains about the wait after five minutes
The kind of lady that really wants you to meet her half-asian niece
The kind of lady who asks about crime when you tell her you used to live in Baltimore
The kind of lady who orders her own dish at a Chinese restaurant and then uses a fork
The kind of lady that sends the food back
The kind of lady who complains about the spice
And the salt
And the lack of vegan options
Before ordering a steak
Well done
Ray Gun Jelly
put your ray gun to my head
raise your horns no more
for the Lord’s Meme gratefully died inside
losing faith in heaven’s door
late night victim of role play suicide
sneak out on a dream-age moonbeam
when you see me Betty
selfie dick theme ready
it’s a shame he couldn’t stay
bury my heart in a new dawn,
today is the day
gone
Sing Sing Correctional Facility
I cannot right the wrongs
Virtue of the left turn signal
Over-correcting for diet
I have tried everything
Confounding controls
Double blind yolks
All I have is a song
Hold the mustard hold the mayo
No I don’t want lettuce or tomato
No ketchup or potatoes
Oh no oh no