Jaclynn Loibl

A Lightning’s Strike

I feel shame for who I am, for who I’ve been, and who I will become. But then I reached tippy-toed for a bar, and my nose did not know. It’s the wind’s whip that brightens my face to a glisten as vivid as the symbol on a tooth-whitening carton. Don’t you cower in theContinue reading “A Lightning’s Strike”

Cross Country Move: Sioux Falls, SD to Lawrence, KS – Day 5 – 4.75/5 Stars

The amount of “drive safe” and “be safe” from family and friends was not for nothing. On the walk out of the gas station after purchasing a French vanilla push-button $1.92 coffee, I observed the distance between me and a white Subaru, its windows rolled down and a dog panting out the window. After threeContinue reading “Cross Country Move: Sioux Falls, SD to Lawrence, KS – Day 5 – 4.75/5 Stars”

Cross Country Move: Buffalo, WY to Sioux Falls, SD – Day 4 – 4.6/5 Stars

“I’ve missed good thunderstorms,” Dave says after we all count from the lightning strike to the cracking thunder. The count is 7 to 11 seconds or the presumed distance in miles it’s away (light travels faster than sound, you know?). Entering the Needles Scenic Byway near Custer, South Dakota, it was all too obvious fromContinue reading “Cross Country Move: Buffalo, WY to Sioux Falls, SD – Day 4 – 4.6/5 Stars”

Cross Country Move: Pray, MT to Buffalo, WY – Day 3 – 3.9/5 Stars

Peter Gabriel’s latest album plays over the car speaker. The way his haunting voice sounds out each word before bellowing his signature pitch for the chorus just feels good. As did our last stop at a sandy shore along Yellowstone Lake. The brown and white peppery sand held Evelyn’s and my attention as waves lappedContinue reading “Cross Country Move: Pray, MT to Buffalo, WY – Day 3 – 3.9/5 Stars”

Cross Country Move: Coeur d’Alene, ID to Pray, MT – Day 2 – 4.4/5 Stars

Tonight, we’ll sleep in Pray, Montana, in a canvas tent the size of a hotel room. It’s fabulous here. With thick rugs, a plush and long leather couch, and fixings for s’mores in the refrigerator, the little extras feel kind and giving, whereas, in hotels, I feel slimy and taken advantage of. Dave and EvelynContinue reading “Cross Country Move: Coeur d’Alene, ID to Pray, MT – Day 2 – 4.4/5 Stars”

Cross Country Move: Bonney Lake, WA to Coeur d’Alene, ID – Day 1 – 3/5 Stars

What a whirlwind. For what should have been a five-hour drive turned into six due to road and Spokane traffic, we didn’t arrive in Coeur d’Alene until 6:30 pm. Unfortunately, the tiny parking lot and the two-story building didn’t match the 18-story, marina-adjacent, dreamy waterfront resort I expected. The two names – Coeur d’Alene ResortContinue reading “Cross Country Move: Bonney Lake, WA to Coeur d’Alene, ID – Day 1 – 3/5 Stars”

Blast Off

I do this thing. I compare. My dream to yours, and as you know, mine is better. But that’s not quite true, is it? Mine is mine. And yours is yours. And sometimes, when they overlap, the water’s wake mists my cheeks while listening to 90’s era Sugar Ray, I wonder if there is anythingContinue reading “Blast Off”

Wave on Wave

I feel the tug at my heart, the pang of sadness. Thinking about the past few days spent with my parents, there’s a low, low that hits without warning. Whoa, I think, feeling its rush pass over me like a tidal wave over a bulkhead. After the feeling, a new wave of doubt enters: AreContinue reading “Wave on Wave”

There is a Season

Writing isn’t flowing tonight. I feel the jerkiness of a poor clutch driver as I move from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph. I’m tired of thinking about stuff—flooring, patio furniture, faucets, and more. Although necessary, my mind is constantly collecting data. For example, earlier at Kristen’s, Kevin brought a replica of a skullContinue reading “There is a Season”

Seafood Surprise

I’m taking things moment by moment, like picking up an opened clam shell at our family reunion today. With my pincher fingers, I used the bottom shell with the meaty bit attached to it and dunked it in melty garlic butter. That’s how Dean Moergeli of the Moergeli clan does it: he brings a three-foot-tallContinue reading “Seafood Surprise”