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The first time I met Paul I was not quite sure what I had gotten myself into. He was a friend of a friend who was interested in missions, that’s what we called Urban Exploration events in 1998, before we knew it was a named and widespread hobby. He was quiet but passionate. As I came to know him Paul seemed like a good friend who...
My friend Misty Catherine Bassi was killed riding her bike in 2009. She was the most gentle person I have met, and it took me a long time to register that Misty was gone.We met at the UMass pagan group where we were often the only people over 20 to attend meetings. She would always insist on grounding cerebral concepts by...
The only shelter in Amherst houses 28 guests. The Exit sign shines constant in the wide basement of the Baptist Church, fixed like a false, red moon above a door that no one enters. Its light spills across the linoleum, parting the cots on either side, 20 in all, filled with men anchoring to unmoor. Some twisting, some turning...
It was like a kettle set on a stove, I didn’t notice the arguing at first. It seemed like some commotion between squirrels or songbirds (not really, I’m just making it prettier so you won’t be so depressed as to turn away) had broken out on this clear, cool late April morning. When I heard my dad yelling, I mean...
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