By Calder M. Serba My Long Walk Toward the Mountains No food. No water. Just distance and cold. I don’t know the penguin’s why. I mean the Continue Reading
Writing
Fayetteville and the War’s Last Days
By Cristóbal S. Berry-Cabán For seventeen years I lived a ten-minute walk from the site of the historic Fayetteville Arsenal, destroyed more than Continue Reading
Yellow Paint and Narcan
I was at The Daily Bird a couple of days ago. I had to drop off somebody who had an interview at Meta House a few blocks away. I didn't know how long Continue Reading
Smoke Over MSR One
On May 31, 2008, my squad was assigned as the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) for eastern Afghanistan in Nangarhar Province. While turning in documents at Continue Reading
The Weight of My Own Standards
I’m writing the first lines of this article thirty minutes past when it should have gone live. It likely won’t be finished until hours later. I’ve Continue Reading
What the Air Force Took and What It Left Behind
I saw her in the pre-op holding area one day, and her usual composure was gone. “Are you OK?” I asked. She didn’t answer. She stared past Continue Reading
The Book Ferret Lesson
When I was fifteen years old, I was determined to work as hard as I could and save up my money so I could buy my first car before turning sixteen. My Continue Reading
The 2025 National Security Strategy and the Return of American Focus
In November 2025, the United States released a new National Security Strategy (NSS) that marks a decisive break from decades of post–Cold War Continue Reading
The Walnut That Nearly Killed My Stick Shift
We own a 2017 Toyota Corolla iM. It's a good car. We've had it nine years and logged 119K miles on it. The Corolla has taken us all over the United Continue Reading
Insults Are the Fastest Way to Lose the Argument
Write this down somewhere prominent: the moment you reach for a slur, an insult, or a profanity-laced personal attack, you’ve stopped trying to Continue Reading
When Heroes Crack
I've been sick the last a few days. It's been just a cold, cough, and sinus infection, but it's been enough to keep me down. My wife, Karin, has Continue Reading
The Man I Refuse to Become
One does not exist without the other. The future cannot be without the past. Good without evil. Son without father. The physiological similarities Continue Reading