Salt and Undertakings
A trip back usually means I’ll carry firewood into the house, splash through mud, and help with some project that involves concrete, sawdust, or grease.
A Song Sadder Than It Used to Be
What could have been? What would have been, always debated. Again and again, the future and now, and tears, but only hers.
the post calvin: selected essays 2013–2016
After three years of publishing daily pieces online, the post calvin is proud to present the post calvin: selected essays. Editors Josh deLacy, Will Montei, Debra Rienstra, and Abby Zwart, along with suggestions from writers, chose pieces that represent the heart of soul of the post calvin.
Why I Believe
I believe because I don’t believe in soundbites, How to Win Friends and Influence People, diets, morals of the story, or myself.
A friend asked me the other day
I settled on Golds. Hers. They matched my monochrome mediocrity. White and featureless, even the butts.
The Tinder Boys
I just realized I met everyone here through Josh’s online dating.
Mary-Veronica
She isn’t actually Mary-Veronica. First she was Veronica, and then, after I gave her $140 but before she gave me her address, she became Mary.
andy and emily and markus and me
The apple tree shines, and someone puts on Springsteen before the fireworks start. New girlfriends, new jobs, new lives.
As a Mother
You know that saying, “Mother knows best”? It’s a saying for a frickin’ reason. We’re the backbone of every decent household in America.
Going Green
Ten-foot-tall green letters shout 21+ MARIJUANA to every northbound vehicle on Martin Luther King Jr Way. The arrow that runs beneath the letters points across the street to a stubby building marked by a green cross. 21+ Recreational Marijuana! hangs in the front window.
Playing Hot Potato With Kindness
I want selfless people to have blissful, perfect lives. When I argue with someone about selfishness, I want to point to loving families and say, “See? This is possible. This is good,” but I can’t.
I Want a God Like NASA
I don’t feel comfortable when people talk about God’s perfect plan, probably because I don’t believe in it.
Love Is a Sentence
We promise love between sheets and in delivery rooms and at hospital bedsides. We say “God is love” and “the greatest of these is love.” But when it comes down to it, whenever we talk about love, none of us are really saying the same thing.
I’m scared she gonna die
I write a check to my church. I send twenty bucks to missionary friends in Romania. You got a dollar, buddy?
Tea and Tranquility
I discovered tranquility in that teahouse. I didn’t even recognize it at first, not until after we slipped off our shoes and backpacks and followed the woman inside, and not until after we padded across tatami floors to sit criss-cross in a plain room.