On September 9th, 2013, I exploded my life in Chicago, and ran away to Texas to be a motorcycle instructor and make a newer, better life. I quit my job, sold or gave away most of what I had, and packed my real treasures away at my parents’ house. I kissed my parrot goodbye, crying, saying “I’ll send for you when I get settled.” (It would be three years until I brought Marco “home” to Texas.) I hugged a lot of dearly-loved people goodbye that I’ve never seen since and maybe never will. I ended the worst relationship I’ve ever been in. Then I left town on a Kawasaki V-Strom with a bag of summer clothing, my laptop, my cell phone, and a Coleman LED battery-powered lantern. It was an act of desperation, I was in no way in my right mind when I made the decision to do it, and it stands as one of the healthiest thing I have ever done for myself.

But that’s not what I want to talk about in this post. I want to tell you how difficult it is to kill a peppermint plant. Continue reading →