Mark W.rites

Posts in #Story

Rodney, the Drinking Fountain, and the Little White Racist: How I Learned to Fear Black People

Scene in front of a school with a group of Black students climbing the steps as they enter the building. Front and center is a boy with a large afro and a vividly-patterned dress shirt with a butterfly collar. Near him is a girl in a nice flowery shirt with a concerned look on her face, being comforted by an adult. Behind him some other students are approaching, and behind them are a sea of white people near an iron fence, protesting their approach.

I don’t know that I have ever told this story to anyone, other than my wife, but there are a handful of people around my age who may remember it well.

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26 Years in the Making: the Exhumation of Cadaverous Quartet

Early version of Cadaverous Quartet logo with four corpses huddled together singing which overlays a texture created from letters and magazine articles.

Following is a story about my six-year journey as a drummer in a death metal band you’ve probably never heard of whose collection of recordings is being republished by a record company you also probably haven’t heard of—26 years after we called it quits.

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That Time I Unexpectedly Played Onstage with Alice in Chains in the Middle of Their Concert

Blurry distant photo of Alice in Chains on stage on the Dirt Tour in Tucson. It's smoky and everything is dark except for the stage, where the band is rocking out.

Every once in a while this story resurfaces in conversation. It’s pretty cool, so I thought I would go ahead and write it down for posterity.

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Teachers are for Inspiration, Not Militias

Mrs. Smith and me, smiling in a selfie outside in front of a restaurant window. I have glasses and a long beard, and I'm wearing a dress shirt and mala beads. Mrs. Smith has short hair and is wearing a vest jacket over a long-sleeve shirt.

This is “Mrs. Smith.” She no longer goes by that name, but that’s what I called her when she was my World Literature teacher during my senior year of high school. I enjoyed coffee and conversation with her on the morning this photo was taken, after a series of interesting events. I want to share this story as a way to help us paint a picture of teachers that doesn’t include arming them for battle in schools. Because gun control isn’t just about the people pulling the triggers.

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