Essay - Chris Field

Chris Field

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Essay

A collection of 31 posts

snowy woods scene with a tire swing, also covered in snow.

The Long Chill

No matter how high I set the thermostat, a chilly breeze runs across my feet.

Hot big pepperoni pizza tasty pizza composition with melting cheese bacon tomatoes ham paprika steam smoke

Life of (Pizza) Pi

In the face of this density of pizzerias on a single side of a hundred-yard stretch of road, a deep understanding of the rankings can only come through years of dedicated testing and retesting. You can’t get that from a few casual visits.

the twisting limbs of a tree with green leaves.

Streams of Time

I jump into my Google photo collection and keep scrolling back all the way to 2002, the first dated picture I have stored there. Then I inch forward in time.

On Figuring

My dog keeps looking at me like I have all the answers, like I am about to do something incredible, and she’s going to be there for it.

Falling In

It was March 13th, 2020. Remember? Sure you do. We all do.

A beige corded rotary phone

The Work You Do

An alumni association from one of my old colleges telephoned the other week. “Hello, Mr. Field! Can you catch us up on your education since leaving our school?” Of course. I provided the highlights of the six colleges I attended and three master’s degrees I earned. “Oh, my! So

A photograph of en empty school hallway

The End of Learning

I had to drive around the block to see them, my children, as they carried themselves towards the old stone steps

Thoughtful young man in modern glasses and casual wear looking on laptop screen.

The Spring of our Reconditioning

Where does the return to the old ways leave me, the common house dad? I am the parent who played the stay-at-home role over the last 400+ days. After everyone returns to work, and I come home to a quiet, suddenly empty house, I wonder if I will miss any of it and what I will do.

Slow-Time House Dad

Slow-Time House Dad

There are two large cookbooks in front of me on the table. My wife used them to press the moisture out of the tofu we air fried. I don’t…

Man Found Alive in Cave After Five Years

Man Found Alive in Cave After Five Years

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Washington

Thirty-Eighth Wednesday of the Pandemic

Thirty-Eighth Wednesday of the Pandemic

Drinking bitter coffee at our small dining room table, I can look out the window and see the piles of camping gear on the back porch…

A woman in white shirt reading a magazine with coffee nearby

The Hard Part of Writing

I am sitting on thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of words. I crafted my story and heroine and dramatic arc and epic conclusion. I placed that last period after that last word of that last sentence.

Curious four year old child playing with bubbles

On Seeking Joy

What is joy? Is it watching your children run into their school building on a drizzly morning, their backpacks bobbing up and down as they laugh and leap around puddles? There they go, through the doors. What wonders await them.

Daughter smiling and sitting on the neck of her father over gray background

IQ Test by Attrition

I took my daughter to the pediatrician. We were sitting in the waiting room with all the other folks and kids. Mostly moms. There are a lot of moms who go to doctors with children. I was basically in a big room full of moms.

Holy Holiday Lies

Holy Holiday Lies

It’s a question my nine-year-old daughter asked me this morning while I was flossing. She means the Elf on the Shelf, a slice of corporate industry holiday fruit cake so many of us have but nobody really wants.

Ten Hours of Drinking

Ten Hours of Drinking

Brian (his real name) and I sit inside at a cafe table. We are in the Championship Clubhouse of the football stadium. The Pittsburgh…

Amish Buggy in Morning Fog

A Life off the Grid

I am in the shower, standing under the hot rain and waiting for the next great idea. The shower thoughts do not come. I can only think about the washcloth being a Velcro mat for body hair. Is this the best we can do?

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done

The Struggle to be Meaningful in Our Time

The Insidious American Diet

The Insidious American Diet

I am at swim practice. My daughter swims. You know, swimming. Suit. Goggles. Water.

A series of sushi rolls

Dining Alone

The Middle Aged Parent’s Fifteen Minutes of Paradise

That Time I Almost Didn’t Buy Something

That Time I Almost Didn’t Buy Something

Considering Consumerism

Woman with white-faced Halloween make up and red hair poses in front of white background

When Your Characters Won’t Go To Bed

I am sitting on the couch with my wife. Between us is an elf, a twenty something warrior-politician from an agrarian, pre-industrial earth…

We Really Don’t Know Anything

We Really Don’t Know Anything

A king led his people in their tiny empire. They lived by the sea and caught fishes and made textiles from materials harvested in nearby…

Time Travel is a One Way Street.

Time Travel is a One Way Street.

I made a mistake. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I take one last Polaroid of myself in the mirror, set the camera down and flap the paper back and forth to encourage the exposure. I write the numbers on it and tape my picture on the wall. Then I go outside and follow the path.

That Time Aliens Took Over My Children

That Time Aliens Took Over My Children

A weird thing happened to me this morning: Both of my children got out of bed after only asking them one time. Then they pleasantly dressed themselves, ate a full breakfast of exactly what I made for them, and walked into school on time. Early, actually.