Heather Nelson, Writer & Wanderer

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Emily, happy birthday to you!” The little girl’s smile was wide and toothy and her blue eyes swept back and forth between the brightly glowing four candles on her cake and the five adults singing just for her. She…

Dolphin skull found in Detroit luggage That poor dolphin, I think to myself.  Probably the most innocent, harmless, adorable creatures on planet Earth, and also a pitiful victim of “wrong place, wrong time” syndrome.  First, as potential canned tuna fodder in the 90s and now a vessel for who knows…

“Oh, Mom. No. Gemma’s the one allergic to nuts, not Amelia,” I said carefuly, holding the tin of still-warm freshly baked cookies in my hand. Her face fell before scrunching back up in thought. “Are you sure? Gemma’s the one who doesn’t like strawberries, and Amelia’s allergic to peanut butter,”…

Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed. My brother and I heard the usual pieces of advice from our dad growing: education is important, work hard, don’t mess around in school, but the brutal little gem above was reserved solely for me, his only daughter. Simple, practical, and it…

“You want to pay a throusand dollars for a custom-cut, roll-up traveling mattress? Really?” “Yes. We’re not getting any younger. If we’re gonna disappear for weeks at a time into the wild unknown, I want to at least have a good night’s sleep.” “Okay. But a thousand dollars? For a…