shay ball

writer

United States

i like numbers and words and lowercase letters.

Portfolio
Literally, Darling
Why I Love Riding the Bus In L.A.

Earlier this month I decided to take stock of my transit life, and combed my room for all of the bus passes I'd accumulated over the years. I emptied old wallets and broken suitcases, checked the pockets of coats I no longer needed, and spread the findings on my desk for a picture.

Medium
Dear Todd

Dear Todd, You're awesome. Let me tell you why. On a bright sunny day in Southern California, at the Starbucks on Robertson and Beverly, you made my damn day. There I was, looking like a crazy person with bloodshot eyes, an unruly curly faux fro, hunched over a laptop trying and failing to finish the first page of the next great American young adult novel.

Blavity
People keep dying: A reflection on grief

The other day I was sitting at Farley's in Oakland and I thought (or said aloud) to myself, "Yo, people keep dying." It was a stupid thought. Of course, everyone is dying. At any given millisecond, someone somewhere is exhaling for the last time. People are dying everywhere.