The Call of the Void

May 15, 2026

1995 "Let's go climb the Kate Shelley Bridge. We'll rappel off it before sunrise." Steve tossed his keys on the counter, and the night was already over — or should have been. We'd just come back from a party. Nothing special. Restless, wired, not ready to sleep. He'd taught me to rappel six months earlier. His father had climbed the same bridge with two-year-old Steve strapped to his back. Steve was studying veterinary medicine now, like his dad had. None of that was why he wanted to go. He…

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Six Pints

May 12, 2026

Labor Day Weekend, 1994 It was the start of my sophomore year at Iowa State. Earlier that day, my new roommates and I had gone rappelling with Steve — an ex–Army Ranger we'd met freshman year. He coached us through knots, anchors, and controlled descents, the mechanics drilled until they felt procedural. By the time we got back to Ames, we were still wired. That night blurred the way college nights often did — house parties, music bleeding onto porches, a red Solo cup sweating in my hand long…

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Flow

February 24, 2026

1996 Ledges State Park sits a few miles south of Boone, Iowa — the same stretch of countryside where the Kate Shelley Bridge cuts across the Des Moines River Valley. I'd never been there before. The place was new to me, but the reason I went wasn't. Someone had mentioned an adventure. A small group of guys planned a hike that weekend and asked if I wanted to tag along. One of them was Kaiser. I didn't know him well — maybe a few run-ins through a mutual friend. He was from the Loo too, though…

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