Sometimes, we only notice the color is fading after it's already almost gone.

Want to make sure your vote counts? Wait until everyone else is done and make your choice then.

When in Maine, get up early so you can see the sun rise before anyone else in the United States from the top of Cadillac Mountain. Then, make your way to Jeannie’s Great Maine Breakfast for a bottomless cup of coffee. The rest of the fare is fantastic, especially the pancakes with local blueberries. It is a great spot to enjoy for a bit, but writing there is tough. They were too busy to let me sit there taking up a table for too long.

Jeanniesbreakfast.com

Family can ask you to do some pretty wild things sometimes. Does everyone else have a crazy Aunt or two, or is it just me? This story was inspired by a talk with one of those people I don’t speak to enough, but somehow with whom I always find myself in a deep, important conversation until we talk ourselves out of it and decide that nothing is really important and that somehow makes everything vital. I don’t know…it makes sense somehow when we get there.

Recess Coffee in Syracuse is downtown on a shady street that invites meandering and sitting for bit. You should go there and sit and watch the world for a while if you ever find yourself there. Why don’t you write a story while you’re at it?

In simple terms, “yinz” is Pittsburgh for “y’all” and yinz would feel welcome in this Pittsburgh shop located a block from some of the coolest bookstores in the country in City Books and Alphabet City. Pair your cup with a fresh cookie and the big window and it’s a perfect respite after a day of walking around one of the cooler cities of the northeast to get you ready for your next adventure.

When in Iceland, make the trip to Vik to see the puffins, the black sand beaches, and the stunning views. There is also a wonderful campground that has the incredible luxury of a coffee shop nestled in a school bus just outside the entrance. Skool Beans makes great coffee and breakfast and serves it up as you wait inside the bus you rode to school as a kid. Plus, it’s guarded by Sir Jeff, a three-legged gentlemanly cat with an attitude problem for those who cross him.

BTW, you can camp in Iceland for $10-$15 a night and sleeping under the midnight sun is an experience not to be missed. Plus, you’ll have more money for good coffee.

As always, loosely edited and highly caffeinated so please send any typos, grammar mistakes, or misattributed discoveries of the principles of physics and we’ll get right on them.

This is more of an exercise in developing character backstory than a story. Plus, I want to keep regular postings going here while I work on a book in the background. Thanks everyone who responds and sends messages. It means a lot. Also, the mother in the last two stories has some demons. This is in no way based on my Mom. She was great :).

If you find yourself in Knoxville and need a great coffee beverage and a scrumptious pastry, stop by Old City Java. There are a lot of reasons to not spend any money in Tennessee, but this place and anything associated with Dolly are two exceptions. https://www.facebook.com/oldcityjava/

Where do you go to search for answers? This gentleman, obviously a regular here was mumbling as I walked up, a few minutes past the posted opening time, and we exchanged pleasantries for a moment before the door opened and we went in. He pitched in on getting chairs to the floor and I had to move once as I was standing in the spot for the rug that tied the room together. I let him and a few others order before me as I looked over the pastries and coffee options while half listening to him “sweetie” and “hun” the crew. When I looked over, he had a hot coffee and a cold Red Stripe (which I didn’t see on the board anywhere). The Whittier Cafe in Denver is a great place to stop and enjoy some time. The stories have already been written here and you can sit and watch them unfold.

https://whittiercafe.com/

You’ve done it thousand times and it’s only fifteen minutes. What could go wrong?

Coffee from The Frothy Cup in Idaho Springs, Colorado. One of the cooler shops I’ve been in and housed in a historic building on a beautiful main street. I asked for a recommendation and the butter beer was spot on (with a granted request to make it half as sweet as they would normally). The home whipped cream on top was beyond description. Go get you a cuppa and grab some cowboy cookies before your next trip into the woods.

https://www.thefrothycup.com/

A lot of this story was influenced by my Dad who showed up every damn day. I hope you all had someone such as him, but I know a lot of you didn’t. You deserved it.

Coffee from Smelly Cat in Charlotte. Great little spot in NODA that’s worth a visit. https://smellycatcoffee.com/

What is the Earth going to miss when we’re all gone?

Do you ever revisit a place to evoke memories of someone you miss? There is magic a place can hold for us when that person is no longer there. Is it a comfort, a superstition, a desire to not forget?

Coffee from Ritual Coffee House in Chicago. This is an amazing spot with the coolest LPs playing and a city vibe that makes you want to take to the streets with a fist in the air once you’ve jacked yourself up on a little caffeine. Definitely a spot to visit again, https://www.instagram.com/ritualcoffeehouse/?hl=en

No matter how places and people change, some things remain the same …

Sometimes, going home is running away.

A little change of pace to a post-apocalyptic world. I imagined the cast of The Mummy and the world of King’s The Stand as I was writing it.

When you sit around and wait for the phone to ring … It’s not always the call you want.

Ben and Bug make it to college and Davie’s housemate gets off easy. Bug would’ve done much worse damage.

Ben and Bug make one last stop in town before getting on the road.

With the war about over, Ben and Bug set off on their grand adventure with a little light larceny to kick-start the trip.

As bad as things had been around our house the last few years, nothing compared to what had been going on at Bug’s his whole life and he was walking away from the only solid thing in his life with that store. Well, except for me of course: I’m a peach.

When she saw the navy, Braves cap with the red brim bobbing a few yards away, she lunged and was able to grab his arm. A space had somehow cleared around him and he stood in a circle of calm, speaking with a tall, thin Indian man who was shaking his hand with both of his. He looked at her and gave her the big, crooked grin which was in all the photos she loved and said, “Hey, there you are.” He gestured at the other man. “This nice fella is going to give us a tour.”