Two Ad Executives at a Three-Martini Lunch

Benton: We need a new paradigm for the post-fact world. Bowles: Ya think? Benton: Totally. A real game-changer. Bowles: How about “Nothing Is Everything?” Benton: Let’s run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes. Bowles: Throw it against the wall and see if anything sticks. Benton: At the end of the day, bringing

The Lych Gate

. You are standing knee-deep in Birch Creek watching a beaver swim toward its lodge fifty yards upstream. It carries a load of fresh-cut twigs and branches in its mouth, and you can make out the sleek form of a second beaver adding its own cuttings to the structure. Suddenly the first beaver slaps its

Cold

Last night it was winter in my dreams again, bone-deep cold and cutting wind. I woke up afraid and shivering. My wife slept warm beside me, and I knew the big freeze would hold off for awhile.