Work Safe or Die Trying

Going to Work with Leesa Cross-Smith

by Bud Smith | Jan 4, 2017 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

Leesa Cross-Smith writes really dope stuff that makes me nostalgic about my hometown, and about...

Yesterday Was Boring, Who Knows About Today

by Bud Smith | Oct 25, 2016 | Work Safe or Die Trying

Yesterday Was Boring, Who Knows About Today I work in an oil refinery, where I’m...

Crystal Ball Emoji

by Bud Smith | Oct 4, 2016 | Work Safe or Die Trying

I’m sitting here and I don’t know the right way to make art or how to cook a steak....

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

by Bud Smith | Sep 12, 2016 | Work Safe or Die Trying

Summer is over, but yesterday I went swimming in a pool at an old age retirement community where I...

Nuclear

by Bud Smith | Aug 23, 2016 | Work Safe or Die Trying

1 / There’s a nuclear power plant right down the road from where I grew up. For most...

A Talk With Troy James Weaver

by Bud Smith | Aug 2, 2016 | Work Safe or Die Trying

Troy James Weaver writes books that remind me of the feeling of getting bailed out, saved, given a sudden second chance when there shouldn’t be another one; when I leave the headlights...

Move Carelessly About Your Life

by Bud Smith | Jul 19, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

My coworkers haven’t mentioned any of the recent problems with the world, but my coworkers have been rambling on, in constant outrage about Pokemon Go.

Come Visit Often

by Bud Smith | Jun 21, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

1 We’re driving in our car away from...

No More Hawaiian Punch Notebooks

by Bud Smith | Jun 13, 2016 | Work Safe or Die Trying

I remember driving very fast down Double Trouble Road in Berkley Township, NJ. I’d had my...

On The Beach

by Bud Smith | May 31, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

After the freak show, where we’d seen the boy werewolf and the sword swallower and...

Spray Tan and Kingdom Hearts: A Talk With Elle Nash

by Bud Smith | May 24, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

I don’t know why I like reading about people’s jobs so much. It’s not like I go to parties and stand there blocking the way to get to the beer cooler or the wine, saying to everyone, “Oh, and what do you...

Troll Dolls and Scarecrows

by Bud Smith | May 17, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

Troll Dolls and Scarecrows Feel like every job a person could ever get has a downside. Has a...

TL;DR

by Bud Smith | May 10, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

1. I got eaten by life and just recently was spit back out. I’m glad that happened. Hi, It’s 5am...

Running and Walking

by Bud Smith | May 3, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

1. When my parent’s separated, I started running. Long distance along the winding dirt trails that...

Glossary of Terms

by Bud Smith | Apr 26, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

Stinger: a clamp you put a welding rod in and hold in your hand. Fire Watch: Person who...

Turtle On a Rock

by Bud Smith | Apr 19, 2016 | Real Pants, Work Safe or Die Trying

You don’t need anybody’s permission to write. You don’t have to be smarter than anybody else on the school bus. You don’t even have to be on the school bus.

You don’t need anybody’s permission to draw pictures or paint paintings. Technical proficiency is not what we are after anyway. If I wanted to see lifelike, I’d look at a photograph. Don’t feel bad if you are the kind of human with the shaky hands.