My second-grade teacher sat me down after class one afternoon and confronted me about an essay I wrote about the Pope. “Are these really your words, Michael?”

What a ridiculous question, I thought, as  I was not yet aware that people make a great living as ghostwriters. Plus, something seemed inherently wrong about lying when the Holy Father was involved. (Oh, Catholic guilt complex.)

After reviewing each piece of evidence, neither the prosecution nor the defense could prove the case in their favor. So she whipped out a piece of loose leaf, handed me a pen, and told me I had 10-minutes to write about any topic of my choosing.

Turns out, I must have written a pretty compelling piece about Canadian geese. While she didn’t exactly apologize for a false accusation, she did encourage me to write in my free time. And through some apparent divine intervention, there was no further mention of the Papal papel.

This blog is simply a continuation of writing in my free time. I recently moved to Philadelphia for grad school with my girlfriend and my dog in tow, and I am grateful for their support. (Mostly Liz’s support – Odie is kind of a leech.) School will likely limit the amount of time I can devote to this little project, but I hope to keep it up over the upcoming months as a welcomed distraction.

If you have any suggestions, comments, commissions, or hate mail, please don’t hesitate to send them my way.

Have a good one,

-Michael