Big Al
Project

Respect the mountain. Not as a rule or a set of guidelines, but as Mother. She is loving, but unforgiving. She is beautiful, she is wicked. Free skiing a volcano in the summer corn will realign your heart. A soggy slog will rekindle your fear of God. Any relationship requires an abundant amount of effort to reap the rewards. Commit. You must know the mountain’s weaknesses, and her strengths. Her past can reflect her future. You must know her friends, the snow and the wind. Wi

My high school bully was a pure bread mathlete and towered over me at a meager 5’4”. An alliance was impossible, for he defended his tiny world with tyranny and oppression. His colorful personality warned outsiders to stay back while he snapped and snarled at the world. He was no match for the athletes, conversationalists, or the secure. He avoided those he disagreed with, which was a great many indeed.  During times of mingle, he could be found leashed to our English teacher

I grew up in Portland, where apologizing is a mouth reflex. Upon the slightest inconvenience, we studder sorry or murmur my bad. Maybe we...

I think I died today. Struck by a white Toyota, I surged into shock before I realized my bad luck. This is it. My mother cooks me...

Strolling the board walk with your designer dog in the morning. Coffee and clothes after a late brunch. Gathering around the preverbal...

Brain Monkey craved information. Venturing to the earth’s four corners, the glorious heights of Heaven, and the fiery pits of Hell, he...

“Demolition? Isn’t that job for rednecks and dynamite? You appear mighty righteous for such a line,” my local consignment shop lady...

You've got to ask yourself one question, do I feel lucky? Whether I am addressed by a .44 Magnum or Aristotle, this is a tricky question....

The Wall Street Journal riled me up this week. Fearmongering is their business model, so I was taken by no surprise when I felt the urge...

Mistakes. We all make them, we all hide them. Why when we are human? The waitress that spills the cup of water is more attractive because...

I am addicted to the heart of darkness. Looking God dead in the eye I ask, “Is this all you got?” In the depths of chaos, the spark of...

The fidget spinner cracked the happiness code. Our brain tweaked, like a cat with his red dot. In 2017, Amazon’s top ten best selling...

Third World. Must we identify countries by political orientation? Wealthy nations divide the world into two, then profit on the margins....

Promise delivered, your late Big Al Project. I was busy trekking the White Mountains, the gnarliest 80-mile section of the Appalachian...

“If you don’t do it this year, you’ll just be another year older when you do.”- Warren Miller The water glared at me from below,...

The cool midnight sand massaged my feet as I made a pilgrimage to the ocean. Among the shades of black, the stars illuminated something...

I want to kill myself. Trapped in my little box, the only escape is a narrow doorway that spits me out into a world trying to stuff me...

It takes a village to raise an idiot. I had nurtured the stupid idea of summiting Mount Hood, and nobody could stop me. My village...

If I could run everywhere, I would. I am racing the clock. Every minute I conquer, there is another. Fast as I can. On to the next. I was...

Early Sunday morning my head cracked the pavement of Times Square. It started with a few playful jabs, but adrenaline overrode the...