A running bowline is an old, old knot that turns a piece of rope into a sliding loop, as big or as small as you like.  The knot is strong, but comes loose when you need it to.  Given my variety of interests, I thought it was a nice metaphor.

Some of what you see here has been republished on Blogcritics.org, and I have had essays published in Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover’s Soul (Oct. 2007), New Lines from the Old Line State: An Anthology of Maryland Writers (Aug. 2008), and The Ultimate Teacher (May 2009).  As of August, 2010, the Bowline can also be found in syndication on Seattlepi.com.  I have written my first book, a travelogue called Every Road Home, and am looking for an agent (or a publisher, for that matter!).  Feel free to drop me a line any time.