Liberty, Freedom Unexplored Ideals

RBM's latest column for The Daily Evergreen at Washington State University appears online today and in print. An excerpt:

The soaring market indices and dot-com boom of the late 1990s––which fueled spending and trust in NAFTA––have been replaced by a sputtering economy and fears about open borders. Democratic presidential candidates hedge on free trade, preferring to talk job growth and fiscal responsibility.

I'm Surrounded by Incompetence

RBM's latest column for The Daily Evergreen at Washington State University appears online today and in print. An excerpt:

The bathroom door was now blocked by the toilet, and could no longer shut. Desperately trying to grasp the chain of events leading to this impossibility, I realized a plumber had installed my new fixture with the door agape. Furthering my exasperation were the remnants of a venti Frappuccino I found melting in my sink.

Current Events Filled with Irony

RBM's latest column for The Daily Evergreen at Washington State University appears online today and in print. An excerpt:

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of "coalition" forces (remember, we do have Estonia's support) has confirmed an average of three to six weekly American GI deaths in Iraq. Append another three dozen casualties, and it becomes painfully obvious that the War on Terrorism has produced, well, more terrorism.

Some Things Are Worth the Line

RBM's latest column for The Daily Evergreen at Washington State University appears online today and in print. An excerpt:

Slowly, we assembled pilgrims crept toward our Mecca, the observatory door, a bright beacon illuminating the gravel path before us. Bystanders tried to be witty and original and nonchalantly versed in solar science, realizing their captive audience. But worst were the returnees, those who had already witnessed the glory.

Meningococcal Meningitis: A Mother's Memoir

An essay by RBM that profiles a childhood bout of meningitis -- and his mother's role in his recovery -- has been published online by Creative Nonfiction. An excerpt:

They say I can finally go home now. A wheelchair! How embarrassing. I get a purple metallic heart with a diaper pin: "For Bravery." On the day we leave I'm standing on the steps leading to the emergency room holding my suitcase and smiling. Mom snaps a photo, and now I'm unsure whether I remember that moment or the picture that captured it.

Welcome to Dispatches

Here you'll find essays, research papers, public radio productions, photography, and other texts from RBM's work as a journalist, an ethnographer, and a writing instructor.