I park in St. Louis upon return from a weekend with old friends. As I drove home, my heart smiled, cried, smiled, and cried some more. My mind loops through life’s what-ifs. From these thoughts, my stomach too finds itself out of sorts. This that follows is my remedy for…

One day recently I arrived home from lab after a 7-hour experiment. I had to complete this experiment a total of 6 times, and it took me about 15 tries. Not a terrible ratio. It’s a challenging experiment because it requires a series of nanomolar calculations and a 16-hour incubation…

Farmer Jeff and Farmer Russ played out in the sun They’d traded science and data for horticultural fun Their beer turned to sweat, which drip-dropped to the ground And hydrated their plants: a new water cycle they’d found! …

When Missouri voted pro-worker by rejecting Proposition A in 2018 and pro-healthcare by passing Amendment 2 in 2020, we revealed that our policies are more liberal than the leaders we elected in 2016. We tipped our hand that there are voters among us who will show up despite typically voting…

A sailor set out on his three-masted wood sloop To the Arctic, or Polynesia, or to sunny Guadeloupe A destination: he lacked — except for the hopeful horizon A journey: he sought — plus some fun in the sun We needn’t always know exactly where we’re traveling to Just that…

My phone’s first ring disturbed the audio zen of Caamp’s raspy vocals and joyous banjo. Normally I decline calls from unfamiliar numbers, but during the second ring I noticed the 314-area code. If it’s spam, well at least it’s loyal to St. Louis. And so during the third ring I…

Farmer Rob wakes up to a severe sore throat. He walks into town to visit his physician with Gus his goat in tow. At her office, Molly provides some simple medicine and assures Rob that he’ll feel better by harvest. …

Heyo Jeff. I hope the letter made it. Time travel has become more possible, but it’s still tricky to navigate the dimensions and parallel universes and wormholes, oh my. Much safer to send a letter than to risk the odyssean journey myself. If my timing is right, then you’re in…

As I reclined in my grandmother’s old Barcalounger, sipping coffee and working my way through the Sunday NYT crossword, the power flickered out. It was around noon and so I figured this was as good of a reason as any to head into lab and see what dirty secrets I…