Native Storytelling: Dominant Narratives in the Lewiston Morning Tribune

Update: A narrative analysis by RBM and three coauthors was presented to the 2004 conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Toronto.

D.C. Sewer Overflows

Update: Over on the Internet Archive you can check out a report by RBM on Washington, DC's fragile sewer system. The feature aired on NPR's Intern Edition. An excerpt from the intro:

Washington, D.C., is a wet place. In 1791, President George Washington chose a piece of marshland for the nation's capital. Two rivers and an oversized creek run through the District, which averages over 40 inches of rain per year. When storms drench city streets, parking lots and rooftops, millions of gallons of water rush through an aging network of pipelines that combine runoff with raw sewage. As Intern Edition's Raul Moreno reports, the Anacostia River is suffering from this polluted mixture, and city managers are trying to fix the problem.

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The soaring market indices and dot-com boom of the late 1990s––which fueled spending and trust in NAFTA––have been replaced by a sputtering economy and fears about open borders.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.