Punch in the streets of Palermo
by Kevin Barrett In 2012, I decided to quit my job and head out on the road to a place we Americans refer to as South America. It was just me and my trusty sidekick Oscar. Oscar is a fat,…
Author Archives: zonker
Driven to perfection
by J. Michael Welton photographs by Geoff Wood It’s early August, and Cam Ingram, 38, is under the gun, busily packing up for Pebble Beach. He’s not going out there for the golf or the ocean or the sun. And…
How to live
by Maureen Sherbondy Forget rules. Make your way to the finish line. The snake is the end and the beginning. Sing while you work. Work is play. Eat all the apples. Toss cores into the stars. Remember to climb jungle gyms…
Tanya Jisa: Cultivating second chances
by Todd Cohen Tanya Jisa found her mission in 2006, when she read in a newspaper article that roughly one in 100 Americans was behind bars. A trained social worker, Jisa had worked at a juvenile detention center, an abortion clinic,…
Gabe Bratton: Artistry and old lace
by Samantha Thompson Hatem photographs by Tim Lytvinenko Gabrielle “Gabe” Bratton loves a good story almost as much as she loves making jewelry. Bring her your grandmom’s old lace wedding dress or yellowing veil, and Bratton wants to hear everything…
The poetry box
When celebrated poets Dorianne Laux and Joseph Millar moved from Oregon to Raleigh in 2008, they brought a love of verse they wanted to share. Laux, a professor of poetry in N.C. State’s creative writing program, had just the…
Pack mentality: Lee Huggins
words and photograph by Juli Leonard Fifty-two feet, 26 ears and 13 tails swarm and churn around dog walker Lee Huggins near Raleigh’s Ridge Road on a sunny afternoon. A tangle of leashes crisscross Huggins’ chest like rainbow sashes. Poop…
A facelift and a fresh start
by Stacy Chandler photographs by Carla Williams Before a group of Wake County remodelers came to the rescue last fall, the headquarters of the Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network, which helps people out of homelessness, was worn out. Its carpet was…
Hot tracks for cool days
Is there a better cure for the cooped-up winter blahs than great music? Walter asked four local DJs for their top picks. Carson Blackley Recent N.C. State graduate Carson Blackley is a radio host and producer for Raleigh’s new country…
Short plants got no reason to….Verbesina olsenii
by Tony Avent In a world where most plant breeders and nursery folks buy into the mistaken proposition that all homeowners want short plants, I embrace a different notion. I can’t imagine anything worse than opening my front door and…
Hometown heroes: The World Series champs next door
by Cam Higgins “Should I use the autograph I’ve been practicing, or just sign my normal name?” Few 13-year-olds get the chance to ask their coach that question, but then again, Dante Defranco and his fellow players on the West…
A farewell to Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
When celebrated poet and Raleigh native Gibbons Ruark heard that Seamus Heaney, his cherished friend of more than 30 years, had died on Aug. 30, he was bereft. Heaney, the Irish Nobel Laureate, had been a hero, kindred spirit, and touchstone…
A house, a dog and love
by P. Gaye Tapp A towering magnolia tree sheltered me from the rush of traffic on Glenwood Avenue for 10 years. There were moments when I thought a car might careen onto the sidewalk, crash into the stucco wall, invade…
Piece by piece
by Jesma Reynolds Born into a family of scientists and doctors, local rocker and entrepreneur Cheetie Kumar was marked at birth when her mother gave her the Hindu name Chitra, meaning “portrait” or “artist.” Her life has been a vibrant…