Personal Favorites
Here are some of my favorite pieces.
Once upon a time, I tracked down my childhood idol. His name was Golden Richards, and he played for the Dallas Cowboys in the mid-1970s. Then he overdosed in front of me. (Texas Monthly, December 1995; Best American Sports Writing of 1996)
When I was young, Harrison Ford was pretty much my favorite actor. Then I met him, and he was a jerk. (Daily Herald, July 18, 2002)
This was a good news/bad news story: The story ran in Details, which was cool. But it was about the shame of moving home with my parents when I was 28. Twenty-eight years old and living with mom and dad. Ye gods. (Details, August 1997)
Sky’s the Limit: Wilco in Time Out Chicago
One day when I was the Features Editor at Time Out Chicago, I got a call from Wilco’s publicist. She wanted me to write about the band. Thus began an endless negotiation for a huge “exclusive” story on the band. In the end, I got 45 minutes with Jeff Tweedy. I also talked to Wilco’s guitarist Nels Cline and bassist John Stirratt, and also former Wilco member Jay Bennett (R.I.P.). I was very proud of the story, and thought it turned out really well. The band, however, hated it and hasn’t spoken a word to Time Out since. (Time Out Chicago, May 10-16, 2007)
Tall Tales of the City: A look at Chicago Myths
In this one, we explored many of the city’s pervasive myths, such as: Marijuana used to grow in centerfield at Wrigley Field, Steve Bartman got plastic surgery and moved out of the country, Tom Cruise and Rebecca DeMornay did the deed during the train-sex scene of Risky Business, and more. (Time Out Chicago, Oct 27–Nov 2, 2005)
How Much Halloween Can One Man Take?
When I was 10, my dad took me to see a lovely little film about growing up in downstate Illinois. Oh, and there’s an unstoppable killing machine on the loose. The movie was called “Halloween,” and if you’ve seen the movie, you know this is no movie to take a 10-year-old to see. To exorcise this traumatic memory, I watched all seven “Halloween” movies in one sitting. (Daily Herald, October 30, 2001)
Oh, once upon a time, how I loved U2. I liked their first few albums, but with “The Joshua Tree” came out — man, it absolutely floored me. I couldn’t listen to it enough. Then, slowly, I started becoming disillusioned with them. I eventually gave up on the completely and wrote about it for the now-defunct City Talk. (City Talk, May 10, 2001)