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Joel Couch

Open anything.

My mother at the table, Easter 2014.MomI used to think I had answers.An illustration of a small gloomy robot on a workbench.Sage, the pessimist robotNala swimming beside the kayak at Newport Dunes, 2004.Nala and the frisbeePanel 27, The Sitting Down.Adventures of Light & DarkAn illustration of an empty indoor batting cage.A website the owner runs without meSixteenand a father.All five kids on one bench, June 2006.Five kids, one benchAn illustration of storm clouds over an industrial yard.When rain is a legal deadlineWell hello there. What’s on your mind today?The Palm Springs 100-miler, February 2006.A hundred milesAccept. Not agree.An illustration of an empty stage with a single ghost light.The Theatre of BusinessThey got up to find a pen.Walking the pack, November 2011.Five dogs at onceAn illustration of a honey bee doing the waggle dance.Bees don’t keep secretsAn illustration of an oak tree hung with old photographs.My dad’s family treeI don’t control the storm.On lead, February 2007.The other end of the rope7:00The filing robotAn invitation only counts if no is an option.An illustration of a presence made of light in a dark room.Synara, built five timesA painted bus on the salt flats, Utah, March 2022.Two years on the roadAn illustration of a hippo at the head of a conference table.The HIPPO in the roomWhat I thought was me wasn’t.The wildfire behind the house at night, 2009.A wildfire over the ridgeAn illustration of one small drive in front of a wall of filing cabinets.A hard drive you can searchThe flip sideYosemite with Tim, June 2008.Four days in YosemiteAn illustration of a desk telephone answering itself.The receptionist that hangs up on robocallsHow you made them feelHot air balloons inflating at dawn in Greeley, Colorado.Balloons before sunriseHers to navigateAn illustration of a typewriter typing by itself at dawn.A brief that writes itselfTwo I was handedSucceed or fail as myself

Hi, I'm Joel. No matter how we do this, you'll always be wrong in understanding who I am. It's really not even possible. Yet we still strive for clarity, understanding, and being seen. That's still the goal.

Would you rather read it as one story?