Written in 2011. Performed on stage at Coldtowne Theater in Austin, TX. JUSTIN My next guest is NORMAN DURAN, editor-in-chief of The Green Witch, a political magazine published on the Lower East- Side of Manhattan. NORMAN Thanks for having me, Justin. JUSTIN Okay, I want your opinion on the entire slate of nominees in the … Continue reading “In Name Only”
Chapter Ten OUTSKIRTS OF TAMPA It’s treat-yo-self Tuesday. Well, technically it’s Monday night, but considering that for the majority of Friday and Saturday I thought it was a Wednesday means that when RB and I decide to get a motel for a couple of solid beds and a decent shower, regardless of what day it … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 10
Oh, Shit Naples, Fl. The fairground charges five bucks to enter. Cars and trucks as far as the eye can see ––one other RV. Whoever’s running this place is making off with some coin today. About 10,000 people in attendance give or take. 3,000 vehicles. Have yet to find myself at a Democratic event where … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 9
THANKS OBAMA PLANTATION KEY, FLA I step out of The Beast with my hands raised high above my head and walk towards the police cruiser. Just making sure the officer is aware I’m not holding anything. If we had been driving, I would have stayed in the vehicle. But when you’re already parked, and a … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 8
THE BIG LIE NEW ORLEANS Sitting at a bar on Bourbon Street. Shrimp and Grits for dinner. I’m on my tenth beer. The crowds come in and walk through the bar in clusters. Bartenders yell out, “Drinks drinks drinks. How many? What you want? Seven? Ten? Twelve?” The bartenders are fast. I know one of … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 7
A CASINO Charlestown, West Virginia. After the week we just had, this is the last place we expected to end up. But when the local KOA costs $65 and is jammed packed for the “every weekend is a holiday weekend in October” Halloween festival, and hotels in the area are $70 or higher, and you’re … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 6
Morrison R. Waite East Toledo, Ohio. We’re standing in the gymnasium of Morrison R. Waite high school. The building is 102 years old. Gothic comes to mind, or maybe Victorian. I’m not too in tune with architectural history, so I make a note that the building is made of stone, has some epic peaks and … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 5
OUT OF THE FURNACE AND INTO THE MITTEN We’d been wandering through the elaborate halls of the capitol building in Lansing, Michigan for about twenty minutes. Past the security guards, past the front desk, past the tour-info booth, up one ornate stairwell and then another, we’d poked our heads into a couple of open doors … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 4
A LIST OF QUESTIONS we’re drinking beers and cooking dinner in The Beast – 16oz cans of Miller High Life and chicken tacos. RB, Mo, and myself. It’s only day four or five, and we’re already bushed. Tired but not beaten. At the top speed of 65mph, zipping from city to city at our current … Continue reading The Fringe 2016: Chapter 3
“IT’S ALL THE PEOPLE YOU WOULD EXPECT…” About one hundred and fifty people stand in front of a well-lit, makeshift stage in the Giese manufacturing plant in Dubuque, Iowa. A giant blue curtain hangs behind the stage, blocking the view of a majority of the plant; in front of the curtain stands an impressive welded, … Continue reading The Fringe 2016 – Chapter 2
Feed the good wolf... 