“Draw what it feels like when you’re not able to write,” Amy told me.
“Do what?
“Just draw it. It can be whatever you want. I’m going to the restroom.”
She was trying to help me overcome my “writer’s block”. I stared at my pint glass, almost empty, before taking the last sip. There were dollar bills with people’s names, or football teams, or hometowns written on them, stapled to the walls and ceiling. A man sat down two stools to my left and asked the bartender how many were up there. I …

It’s raining outside, sheets of rain coming down, drowning everything. I’m reading verses about peace and comfort and a future, but none of it is making any sense today.
“My help comes from the Lord.”
“He will not allow your foot to slip.”
“The Lord will protect you from all evil.”
“I will make up to you for the years the swarming locusts have eaten.”
It’s all pretty frustrating right now.
I saw a woman the other day and it looked like she was having to blow through a tube to propel her wheelchair down …

John + MJ from Pistil Films on Vimeo.
video: jade sullivan
photo: ben williams
song: kurt vile

The track lights reflected off the sheets of copper covering the wall behind the percolators and when I turned around a group of customers walked in, the line creeping toward the door. Good. Finally. Tips. I’ve worked at this cafe for six months, and I swear I’m like the stripper with the best boob job when it comes to getting the biggest tips possible from every type of customer.

December, 2003; October, 2005
A beautiful two-story house with white columns on both porches and a palm tree in the front yard stands on a tree-lined street in a historic Columbia neighborhood. I drew the design of it on a napkin in Shoney’s; the builders were sitting across from me, and Caroline’s eyes were lighting up as she suggested changes she would like me to make.
“We can do that,” the builders nodded as they stared at the napkin.
It was Caroline’s idea to try to live downtown when we moved to Columbia. …