PAUL MATTHEW CARR
Temptations & Trespasses
I Remember Magic
I am driving home from work in the rain. The traffic is heavy and I am upset. Not at anything in particular, just a strange combination of angry-sad, non-focused malaise. I have a feeling of
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
It is a question we’ve all been asked at least once at some point in our childhood. And the answer, at least for me, would change depending on the time and place or the frame
Olly, Olly All Come Free
When I was a boy we played games. We would gather at Mike’s house to decide what the game would be. Mike lived in the middle of the block so it was a centralized location
I Can Hear the Fireworks Up & Down the Line: 4th of July Memories
It is Independence Day. There is red, white and blue bunting hung from porches and windows. The air has the scent of smoke; it’s there in the background but always present. You almost don’t notice it...
A Nothing Day: Comic Books, Video Games & Graveyards
I wheeled the bike from the garage and took a deep breath. It was the start of the lull week that happened every summer. The week when every kid I knew was off at camp
Saying Goodbye in Paradise (Or Waiting for the Hurricane)
I’m not sure if this is going to work. Or if it will make any sense let alone be entertaining to read. I guess you can call this an experiment. I am going to write
Sand & Sea: The Impermanence of Objects, 1st Meditation
Once, a long time ago, I lived in a house near the edge of the world. In the winter, when the air was still, I would lie awake at night and listen to the Ocean,
The Faraway Lands
My first trip to the Faraway Lands came through a Magical Box and was quite unexpected. It happened when I was seven years old and grounded. Now, to my knowledge there are three ways to
In a Forest Dark and Gloomy
I sit and look out my back window into the yard behind my house. It is large and full of trees; a combination of fir and pine and aspen. On this day, early in the
Halfway Through
Another article about my birthday that I published eight years ago. Update: Still working on telling that story. In a few days, I will turn 45 years old. A momentous occasion I have decided. It
Close Your Eyes & Make a Wish: Birthday Thoughts
It's my birthday today, so here's a little thing I wrote nearly 10 years ago about getting older. See? Even this post is aging. Still is relevant though. I’ve always enjoyed getting older. That may
Digging to China
We walked along the beach, my companion and I, on a cloud-filled morning in late autumn. The air was cold and filled with misty rain. It was the kind of weather that sticks to you;
The Year When I Was New
Sixteen. Sixteen was a good year. Oh, to be sure it was a year of fear and social awkwardness. A year I spent the majority of the time confused and unaware of my surroundings and
Memory & Fog: The Impermanence of Objects, 3rd Meditation
Once, a long time ago, I told you I would love you forever. I never intended to lie to you. I am back in San Francisco, the place where we once lived together. It has
All That Road Going: Kerouac & A Driving Beat
On my 16th birthday my brother gave me a copy of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and it changed my life forever. Not really. It would be nice if it did, if it worked that
In the Swirling Sands I Jump
I stand atop the Sand Dunes at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo, the blood of Christ, my back to the wind. The sand swirls around me, my pockets fill with it, my feet
Creative memoir. Stories and sketches drawn from real events but with slight embellishments added for entertainment purposes. In other words…writing.
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