Category Archives: Uncategorized

One year ago, in the Year That Wasn’t, I was in a hospital tent trying to breathe, in isolation trying to distract myself with bad football, trying to make it to 2021 because my God how could that be any … Continue reading →

I THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE A COUCH.  I’d never been to see a therapist, but I’ve been to a shit-ton of movies and well, there’s always a couch in the movies. There’s almost always a happy ending, too, which should … Continue reading →

I’VE ALWAYS HAD A LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNKNOWN. I love that it fascinates me, inspires me, drives me. But I embrace it as you would hug a porcupine — very carefully and not without a huge dose of What … Continue reading →

IT’S TRADITION here at Below the Fold to share an early excerpt from the next book project. Okay not tradition in like the traditional sense, more in the “well I’ve done it before and I haven’t died from embarrassment yet … Continue reading →

THIS IS HOW IT FEELS. Not elation but relief. Not celebration but reflection. Not an end but perhaps a new beginning. Guilty verdicts for Derek Chauvin in the murder (we can now say murder) of George Floyd won’t erase centuries-old … Continue reading →

ON THE FIRST DAY I WASHED MY HANDS OF IT. Lots of soap, two “happy birthdays.” Rinse and repeat.  After the first week my daughter came home because of it; graduated college in our living room thanks to it.  For … Continue reading →

I SEE KOBE. Not the undefendable jumper or the unapologetic swagger. Not the 81-point masterpiece or reducing opponents to pieces. Not the championships or the Larry O’Brien embrace, with Shaq at his side and champagne on his face. I see … Continue reading →

I SPENT NEW YEAR’S EVE IN A MAKESHIFT TENT outside Hoag Hospital in Irvine, Calif., wondering whether my next breath would be the last. I had good reason: my Covid symptoms were getting worse, causing my throat to conspire against … Continue reading →

WE’VE ALL SEEN THE STATS. As of this writing: Nearly 18 million cases in the United States and 317,000 deaths. My home state of California is breaking records every day. ICU space is at 0% here with no improvement in … Continue reading →

WE MISSED YOU. I know, we’re the ones who kicked you out. Sorry about that. It wasn’t all of us, though — it wasn’t even a majority of us (we’ll talk about that Electoral College thing later.) But we’re here … Continue reading →