Alpenglow Law, LLC

10/15/2021

My best friend is nine years old. Our camaraderie is founded in our commonalities: we have mutual appetites for chicken fingers and adventure, share an affinity for aiding others, and are of course linked by the codes found in our double helixes. But we are not mirror images. The bonhomie of our relationship is bolstered by the sharp contrasts of our socioemotional predilections and the other quirks of our respective personalities. ...

My best friend is nine years old. Our camaraderie is founded in our commonalities: we have mutual appetites for chicken fingers and adventure, share an affinity for aiding others, and are of cours…

10/01/2021

No matter how far or how high, my bike always seems to make it to the top of the trail, propelled by the stubbornness that is a hallmark of my genealogy. Theoretically the most difficult part, one that I relish and that others dread, climbing prowess is my personal cosmic chuckle. Because once at the summit, there is only one way home: down a circuitous, rocky, off-camber, blind-cornered, loose hellscape. ...

No matter how far or how high, my bike always seems to make it to the top of the trail, propelled by the stubbornness that is a hallmark of my genealogy. Theoretically the most difficult part, one…

09/17/2021

The hisses and crackles emanating from the burning pine and the spinning vinyl are indistinguishable. The fireplace and the record player each exude their own species of warmth, necessary bulwarks against the freezing of the body and spirit. Outside, the crystalline feathers fall silently and with great promise. The girl had long retired for the evening, the boy took one last stab at the sentence before he joins her....

The hisses and crackles emanating from the burning pine and the spinning vinyl are indistinguishable. The fireplace and the record player each exude their own species of warmth, necessary bulwarks…

09/03/2021

Subtlety and humility are not characteristics of this age. Turned up to eleven at all times, we could probably use a collective spinal tap to diagnose the ills that so clearly plague us. We blast out flattering pictures of ourselves and otherwise self-aggrandize in a way that has become disturbingly normal. But our efforts are futile and our existence is meaningless. ...

Subtlety and humility are not characteristics of this age. Turned up to eleven at all times, we could probably use a collective spinal tap to diagnose the ills that so clearly plague us. We blast…

08/20/2021

With the oceans as his domain, Poseidon had free reign over wide swaths of flora and fauna, dominion over naval warfare and seafaring explorers, not to mention the flowing locks, chiseled features, and immortality of an Olympic god. But, as my Czech compatriot Franz Kafka knew all too well, even those that have everything, deities included, are still burdened by the inanities of existence. ...

With the oceans as his domain, Poseidon had free reign over wide swaths of flora and fauna, dominion over naval warfare and seafaring explorers, not to mention the flowing locks, chiseled features,…

08/06/2021

Stealthily, the plate is placed in front of me and just as swiftly, I am elsewhere. The warmth emanating from the just-charred pita recalls desert heat, the pressing of flesh at a crowded table, the heartiness of genuine laughter. Dill and parsley and garlic and tomato waft their telltale scents noseward and they mix with an imagined sea spray that brings me beachside even though I am decidedly inland. ...

07/23/2021

On the drive up the hill for family dinner, Violet and I had a mock argument, one set several years hence, in her teenage future. We comedically role-played her outrage at being discussed in these pages and my likely ill-advised reaction to her ensuing tantrum. We giggled heartily, although our prognostication will probably prove quite accurate; our feelings in that coming moment may not be as buoyant. ...

On the drive up the hill for family dinner, Violet and I had a mock argument, one set several years hence, in her teenage future. We comedically role-played her outrage at being discussed in these…

07/09/2021

Predestination never enthused me as a concept: abdicating responsibility for the course of my life is anathema to the control that I would, even foolishly, like to believe that I can exert over my own destiny. Rather than being stuck in a preordained rut, I prefer to plow a different path, test my resolve to tread a track that is very often the equivalent of an uphill bushwhack. ...

Predestination never enthused me as a concept: abdicating responsibility for the course of my life is anathema to the control that I would, even foolishly, like to believe that I can exert over my…

06/25/2021

Society craves categorization, wants a convenient way to distill complex concepts into easily digestible labels. Humans also require certainty as to who may be their allies and enemies, a vestigial survival trait that reduces the population to friend or foe. Frequently, this taxonomy creates artificial binarity, a semantic distinction devoid of subtlety that pigeonholes people into two opposing groups, even at the risk of trying to smash a square peg into a round hole. ...

Society craves categorization, wants a convenient way to distill complex concepts into easily digestible labels. Humans also require certainty as to who may be their allies and enemies, a vestigia…

06/11/2021

The 4Runner crawled admirably, if roughly, as its tires articulated over the rocky terrain. So focused on not rolling over, I had failed to notice the group standing bewildered and slightly agog as I approached them. It was a public thoroughfare, in the most loose of terms, yet I felt that I was intruding. That instinct was not wrong; as I rolled down the window, a kind gentleman informed me that they were imminently to spread the ashes of their recently deceased friend. ...

The 4Runner crawled admirably, if roughly, as its tires articulated over the rocky terrain. So focused on not rolling over, I had failed to notice the group standing bewildered and slightly agog a…

05/28/2021

The early morning fog hung heavily upon the expanse, presaging the cannon exhaust that was soon to come. Fifes and drums echoed through the valley, coordinating the rhythms of myriad boots as they trod purposefully upon dirt and turf. Through the mist, two vast armies approached from opposite points of the compass, drawn into combat for reasons and pretenses real and imagined. ...

The early morning fog hung heavily upon the expanse, presaging the cannon exhaust that was soon to come. Fifes and drums echoed through the valley, coordinating the rhythms of myriad boots as they…

05/14/2021

The tiles were full of animation, of expectation, of elation. A new baby, a cherubic girl, had joined the tribe. Bound in digital proximity, the community gathered as we have come to gather these days. Each allowed a brief moment of longing for the in-person congregation that had brought the same folks together that beautiful evening in Caesarea. And yet the pangs for that time, the current predicament keeping us apart, could not overshadow the joy that there was another member in the midst....

The tiles were full of animation, of expectation, of elation. A new baby, a cherubic girl, had joined the tribe. Bound in digital proximity, the community gathered as we have come to gather these…