If you live in Canada, the northern half of the United States, or large parts of Europe and northern Asia, you know exactly what I’m talking about. March, like May, is the month that simply refuses to make up its mind. One day the sun comes out, half the snowbanks melt, and you start thinking,Continue reading “The Madness of March Weather”
Author Archives: John Berkovich
Walking Gettysburg: Where the Ground Still Feels Heavy
The next entry in my occasional travel series of places I’ve been to. Visiting Gettysburg National Military Park isn’t like touring a museum. There are no glass cases separating you from the past. You walk on it. You stand where it happened. You feel the scale of it under an open sky that looks farContinue reading “Walking Gettysburg: Where the Ground Still Feels Heavy”
The Rise and Fall of Bumble Bee, Arizona
The next entry in my occasional travel series of places I’ve been to. You don’t just stumble into Bumble Bee, Arizona. You drive toward it. The desert opens wide around you, saguaros standing like sentries, the sky stretching endlessly in that particular Arizona blue that feels almost exaggerated. The road narrows, the terrain rolls gently,Continue reading “The Rise and Fall of Bumble Bee, Arizona”
The Only Thing More Predictable Than Changing the Clocks is the Complaints About It
This past weekend, the clocks moved ahead for Daylight Saving Time in about one-third of the world, and right on cue, the annual chorus began. People complain about losing an hour of sleep. They complain that it messes with their body clock. They wonder aloud why we still bother with this system in the firstContinue reading “The Only Thing More Predictable Than Changing the Clocks is the Complaints About It”
The Quiet Road Where Bonnie and Clyde Died
The next entry in my occasional travel series of places I’ve been to. Some places don’t look like history. Instead, they look like nothing. A rural road with trees leaning lazily over the shoulder while a gentle breeze blows. But so does silence. And yet you stand there knowing something violent once tore the airContinue reading “The Quiet Road Where Bonnie and Clyde Died”
When Your Instinct Says Step Back
There’s a difference between someone who talks too much and someone who sets off alarms. The former drains you while the latter tightens something in your chest and has your Spidey-sense tingling. A lady a few years older than me walked into the hangout mid-Friday afternoon. I was taking the afternoon off for the longContinue reading “When Your Instinct Says Step Back”
When the Identity (Almost) Breaks
About a year after I was downsized – still deep in the heart of COVID, with lockdowns and stay-at-home orders unless necessary – I took a job delivering refurbished goods to surplus stores. Sales and delivery. Boxes in the back of a truck. Routes. Invoices. Inventory. On paper, it was practical. Income is income. PrideContinue reading “When the Identity (Almost) Breaks”
The Slow Acceptance That Not Every Hour Has to Be Productive
There’s a particular kind of guilt that showed with me around three in the afternoon. It slides into my brain and asks, quietly, “What have you accomplished lately?” And I can feel the low flame of my brain flickering instead of roaring. For years, I would have fought this hour. I would have forced something.Continue reading “The Slow Acceptance That Not Every Hour Has to Be Productive”
Thurmond, West Virginia – The Trains Still Pass Through
Continuing my occasional travel memory blog entries: Thurmond, West Virginia, felt like walking into a paused sentence. The buildings still stand in a straight line along the railroad tracks, their wooden facades facing forward as if waiting for something. But the motion that once defined the town is gone. Its population is five people. Yes,Continue reading “Thurmond, West Virginia – The Trains Still Pass Through”
Exploring Mississippi’s Legendary Crossroads
Continuing my travel journal: Not far from Money, Mississippi – just a short drive across the same flat Delta landscape – I found myself chasing a very different ghost. Where Money carries the weight of documented history, the Delta’s crossroads carry myth. Somewhere near the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, theContinue reading “Exploring Mississippi’s Legendary Crossroads”
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