Taya Weiss

Outrage is Easy. Change is Hard.

Taya — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 00:58:43 +0000

This week, as news spread of the seemingly light punishment for former Stanford student and athlete Brock Turner after his rape conviction, social media erupted with righteous indignation. It is, of course, worth celebrating that the victim’s voice is being …

Bringing Work Home

Taya — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 07:51:19 +0000

I’m almost home when two men hustle into the idling blue Golf in my lane and speed off. It’s dark, but there’s no mistaking the lump they leave behind.

With no space to swerve around oncoming traffic, I stomp the …

Daughter

Taya — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 23:30:58 +0000

“Stay wonderful. We can be happy. Love can go anywhere. Wherever you are, my love is with you, and it’s good love.”

Your dad wrote these words to me before he died, and I believe they are still true. I …

Safe Place to Sleep Tonight

Taya — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 00:42:09 +0000

We leave the bar near the dropzone with hookah pipe smoke clinging to our clothes, into the darkness, the car, towards the neon signs of gas stations around the lake. He reaches over to hold my hand and I take …

Edgeington

Taya — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 00:43:24 +0000

Our goal was to explore the limits of a high-performance canopy pilot docking with a wingsuit flyer in freefall. The idea had been around for a while, but we wanted to do it in new ways that showed it could …

Dust to Dust

Taya — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 23:33:37 +0000

She tells me she’s having a recurring dream about giving birth. She physically feels the contractions and the pain, pushing and breathing and yelling until she hears his first cries.

When she wakes, the sobs start low and growly. The …

Glitter in the Ashes

Taya — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 21:46:40 +0000

Ingredients:

1. Cremated remains of a skydiver
2. Heavy duty Ziploc bag
3. Glitter (optional)
4. Duct Tape
5. Cordura pouch with velcro
6. Functional aircraft
7. Parachute system
8. Love
9. A willingness to let go

Directions:

Remove the …

Blue Skies

Taya — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 22:56:49 +0000

“Blue Skies. This sport glows brightly, and burns incomparably beautiful images into our memories. That brightness comes at a very high cost. It’s the lives of our friends, the blood and the bones of our sky family. That’s the dark …

Looking into the Abyss

Taya — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 21:22:05 +0000

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

Josh had a grin like the sun …

The Meaning of Death (If Any)

Taya — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 00:28:33 +0000

Elle Botha, on holiday the same year she died skydiving

Twelve days. I made it twelve days into 2016 before experiencing the awkward pause on the other end of the line. The heavy silence leading to a nausea that arises …