Lonely Kings? Fun fact: I was in a fraternity in college. But not your carbon-copy blond crewcut, polo shirt-wearing, white boy, put roofies in girls’ drinks and haze with alcohol FRAT. No, we were a mix of races and ethnicities. Some of us came from wealth, most of us came from nothing. We had Mexicans,…
The Love Trapezoid
Lessons in Family Geometry
Lessons in Family Geometry
Breaking the Bubble
A Little Reckless?
It. Was. Awesome. I did something wild and crazy last week. I boarded a plane and arrived in a faraway city. Once on the ground, I took a Lyft to a hotel. I checked into a room by myself. Then, I spent the next two days going to hospitals and pharmacies and talking to people…
The End?
I feel fine.
I feel fine.
Where the Pandemic Ends
To Mask or Not?
Baffled and…liberated Last week, we traveled to our eastward neighbor, Arizona. We’ve been through the state at least three times within the last two years, each time proceeding with caution due to the state’s historically high rate of Covid-19 infections. The reason for this visit was to see a relative we haven’t seen since before…
Waiting on a Miracle
Wonderfully Normal
Antihero Realness Disney got it right. Yeah, there was plenty of magic. A girl with super strength, her sister who could will flowers to life. Their mother whose food had healing powers. The tía whose mood affects the weather, the cousin who can shape shift, and his sister who has super hearing. Oh, and their…
Apocalypseburg
War Hardens The Heart
Everything’s Not Awesome March 2020, when the world knew nothing about what was truly ahead with the pandemic, one thing was keeping my family going. The Lego Movie 2. With the shutdown on March 13 and soon after the shelter-in-place mandates, my children were granted an early spring break. Each morning, they would start the…
Temple of Doom?
The Long Haul
Rebuilding My Temple We’ve all been talking about it for two years. Our respective Covid-19 war stories. When we had it. When someone in our family had it. When someone we knew died from its complications. Those who have been vaccinated but still go it. Or, those of us who have never had it. Each…
Am I Doing This Right?
Father Figures It Out
Fatherhood ≠ Performance Evaluation My best friend is weeks away from the arrival of his first baby. A son, in fact. My friend is, naturally, quietly freaking out. Along with prepping his home, stockpiling baby supplies, and caring for his working-til-the-last minute surgeon wife (who, incidentally, hasn’t had the smoothest pregnancy) Alex is suffering from…
The Happiest Place?
Access to the Magic
Valuation of Time For Southern Californians, Disneyland is an institution. Almost everyone who lives in the region has entered the park at least once in their lifetime, or is an annual passholder and goes regularly, or they know someone who works there. Our family visited a few times with our children pre-pandemic, and now in…
Hand Over Heart
Better People Campaign—What to Do in ‘22
Mission Five: Greatest Good In our home, we’re constantly working on the concept of the “family unit.” The idea being that the actions and behaviors of one affect all. With two Gentlemen-in-Training, this proves to be especially difficult. Little boys (at least ours) can be hot-headed, stubborn, and inconsiderate. Let’s just say they’re working on…
‘Functional Families’ Featured Story: Agony in the Garden
The night is just getting started.
The night is just getting started.
‘Functional Families’ – A Short Story Collection About Dys(fun)ctional Families by Taylor García
Taylor García's fiction collection speaks to the bright and dark sides of family and how cultural and societal beliefs shape and twist us.
Taylor García’s fiction collection speaks to the bright and dark sides of family and how cultural and societal beliefs shape and twist us.
Take This Job and Shove It
Mission Four: Gaslighting
Trip the Light By now, most everyone’s aware of The Great Resignation. Workers of all skill levels and in all industries are leaving their jobs, many without a plan. They’re either retiring early, taking extended time off before they job hunt, switching industries, or going independent in some way. Either way, they’ve had it with…
Mascots of Nothingness
Better People Campaign—What to Do in ‘22
Mission Three: Gazing & Gawking One day, the politicians we have in front of us will be gone. They’ll be swept away with the dust and cobwebs and put in boxes like old Christmas decorations bound for the trash. Why, then, are they IN OUR FACES ALL THE TIME? Why are they fixtures in our…
Thoughts and Prayers
Better People Campaign—What to Do in ‘22
Better People Campaign—What to Do in ‘22