by John Macdonald | Feb 17, 2023 | The250
I guess people have always been worried about protecting their jobs. It seems like a natural worry. But we’re wrong to think that not teaching someone else to do our job or help us with ours is the way to protect it. At 22 and fresh out of college with a degree... by John Macdonald | Feb 16, 2023 | The250
He flashed it, looked at us, put his shirt back over it, and kept right on moving past us. Now I don’t know what to do except quickly deposit the trash and get back to our group as fast as possible. But once we were amongst the group, the whisper shouting... by John Macdonald | Feb 15, 2023 | The250
Tuesday was the day we saw the gun. It was our second day of work at Mrs. Williams’s house, and we’re sitting in the marginal shade between the houses, leaning up against the chainlink fence, eating our lunch. The shade provides so little relief, but... by John Macdonald | Feb 14, 2023 | The250
I’ve just met Mrs. Williams, and I’ll forever be a better human because of it. On this particular occasion in Richmond, our job is to replace the floor in her kitchen. I mean, it’s a complete disaster. The old wood-fired pot belly stove (yup, you... by John Macdonald | Feb 13, 2023 | The250
What were some of the best times of your life? Were they travel adventures? Romance? Successes? The birth of children? Do any of those best times involve layers of sweat and grime, cold showers, and sleeping on hard floors in a community room with 25 other people?... by John Macdonald | Feb 12, 2023 | The250
The first time I saw a gun out of context was in the inner city of Richmond, Virginia, with a bunch of teenagers from our Church. I grew up in a hunting family. We had guns. Not pistols, but long guns — rifles and shotguns. The kind legitimately used for hunting...