tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81374992011-04-21T12:28:38.739-07:00all memory is fictionForrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.comBlogger71100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137499.post-1095473759625222522004-09-17T18:48:00.000-07:002004-09-17T19:15:59.626-07:00

We were sitting in the front seat of my dad's pickup truck, just the two of us. We were waiting for my dad to finish saying goodbye to my roommate and my girlfriend. Suddenly she turned to me and said, "You know, I really do love you." I looked at her and smiled, confused, and said, "that's cool." Why now? Why right before a long drive together? Why not six months before, or any other point at

Forrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137499.post-1095060160582494752004-09-13T00:22:00.000-07:002004-09-13T00:22:40.596-07:00

We were going 120 up I-5 through the Central Valley and I was beginning to get worried about my hair. There were four of us in the little Golf GTI, it was about 95 out, and the car had no air conditioning. We had rolled down the windows to deal with the heat, and even though I had my waist-length hair in a ponytail, it was beginning to turn into an impenetrable rats' nest I was afraid I'd never

Forrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137499.post-1094891137736246942004-09-11T01:25:00.000-07:002004-09-11T12:35:49.583-07:00

I was young enough that the start of the school year was still exciting. Anything could happen. I'd spent the summer doing yardwork to save up for a Sharp programmable scientific calculator you could program in BASIC, and the summer spent mowing huge lawns, weeding, and hauling wheelbarrows around had left me a short, wiry kid. I was starting the year with no friends but a vague sense that things

Forrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137499.post-1094313571217847812004-09-04T08:59:00.000-07:002004-09-04T08:59:31.240-07:00

They'd asked me to come out to Missoula the previous autumn, but after the breakup, it seemed wise to give myself time before coming back to town. They understood. They were my friends, and we'd thrown a lot of parties together. Now it was January, and they'd offered to buy me a plane ticket if I'd come out. All I had to do was pack up my records and do my thing at the party. I missed them and I

Forrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137499.post-1094260819433140202004-09-03T18:20:00.000-07:002004-09-03T23:56:05.506-07:00

It had been raining intermittently for two days by the time we pulled into the dark campground, and we had been on the road for four. We were mostly quiet after all the time together in the beat-up old pickup. Small talk had been exhausted, and we were both tired and not looking forward to another night in the soggy confines of the tent. The campground where we were staying is famous for its

Forrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137499.post-1094058623152382192004-09-01T10:09:00.000-07:002004-09-01T10:25:27.863-07:00

I decided to rent the SUV because I'd just bought a GPS and I wanted to play with it. I got a later start than I'd planned, and drove too fast to make up for it, and I got into Ashland sometime after 9. I had planned my accommodations, typically, at the last minute, so I was spending the first few days of my stay at a lodge about 10 miles from town, off the interstate and up in the pass. I'd

Forrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137499.post-1094027722653005662004-09-01T01:05:00.000-07:002004-09-03T23:37:06.086-07:00

Sometime in September of 1998 I started walking. I'd get to a point where I knew I wasn't going to get any more work done, and I'd pack up my stuff, leave the office, and start walking. I'd start somewhere south of Market, maybe walk down to the end of Howard, and go across Market and then just start walking up Sacramento, maybe until I reached Fillmore, maybe until I reached Arguello. Just

Forrest L Norvellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13651664566364743379noreply@blogger.com1