Newsletter and Other Work with a Personal Voice

That Long Walk is occasional storytelling reminiscent of personal columns appearing in newspapers. It from a never-dead ambition to be a newspaper columnist. That desire was initially fulfilled when I wrote blog pieces for the Kitsap Sun. I address issues that don’t fit neatly into a social media meme, focusing mostly on the stuff that moves us. I believe little is as simple as a meme pretends it to be. Subscribe, and share it with your friends.

Here are three links to pieces I wrote as a reporter, pieces that reflect the tone That Long Walk continues.

Our Conversation About a Word that Starts with ‘N’
A school administrator used the real 'N’ word to explain why another version of that word was in the text of a curriculum on Martin Luther King, Jr. This piece gave context behind two ‘N’ words and explained why the repeated use of one of them resulted in a paid leave. PDF version

Goodbye to a Father
Because of a chance encounter with a member of Congress who would become governor, I had a special insight into the relationship between the politician and his dad. I wrote this when his father died. PDF Version

Newspaper Reporter

In 1999 I became a newspaper reporter at 37. I had abandoned the trade shortly after college graduation, but even after the long layoff I found myself immediately at home in the newsroom. Over 16 years I wrote for three publications, the last 13 for the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton, Wash. I can still write. Here are samples of my work.

What Makes Us Make Lasting Life Changes?
This piece was a passion project that didn’t quite get me the Pulitzer I coveted (only kind of kidding here), but did get recognized by the parent company and left me happy. PDF version

The Roots of a Revolt
Someone passed along a tiny tidbit of news that led to a larger dissection of how an environmental champion on a left-leaning island was defeated in his bid for re-election to the city council. PDF version

Tim Sheldon Makes No Apologies for Dual Role
Our region has a state Senator who also was a county commissioner. I hung out with him one day to hear him talk about his dual role. PDF Version

Author

My Predominant Faith is the story of a life-changing decision I made at 32. I thought I was stuck and wanted to be free. What I learned with my success taught me in ways I didn’t expect. That shouldn’t be a surprise, because life lessons seldom come from a manual.

At the turn of the millenium I wrote a novel. Over at That Long Walk I have a piece giving the history of Going Too Far (PDF version), how it didn’t turn out as I’d planned. It’s mostly my fault.

Spill Your Guts’ Guts, a book that could resurface, was an early experiment in self publishing. The original book was essentially a transcript of podcast episodes I did in 2011. The podcast was fun and I told great stories, but it was a ton of work I did not have the energy to continue. I took the text of those episodes and lightly edited to make them more suitable for a book. It was largely work I wanted to do so I could learn how to do it. If I do re-release it, I will do so telling the stories as a writer, not a podcaster. I learned in a re-read, that the two storytelling mediums are separate.