

On Commentary, 1996
When I get disgruntled with work, I update my CV (you should, too; you are not trapped.) Every time I do so, I realize that there are things that should be on the CV but aren't. I was looking back through things from the late 1990s, and I ran across the writing I did that's linked below. When you revisit things you did 25 years ago, you sometimes forget how cool they kinda were. I was in this mix with Richard Dawkins and Martin Gardner. Non-nerds will not appreciate who Dawki


Conflated Flags
(originally appeared as a letter to the editor in the October 30, 2015 Daily Mississippian newspaper: http://thedmarchives.com/letter-to-the-editor-34/)
Dear Editor: A couple of weeks ago, I was walking past the Capitol in Washington, DC on my way to watch an Ole Miss football game with other DC alumni. In a park off to the side, about a dozen or so white men and women were waving the Confederate battle flag. They were some yards away from me, and separated from a seething


1 January 2019-The Aftermath of the Congressional Campaign
(written by RMW and Stephanie DeLuca) 1 January 2019 Dear Friends: I’m writing to thank you for your generous support for my congressional campaign, and to wish you a very Happy New Year and a wonderful 2019. My campaign was always a moonshot. When I was a kid growing up, the Apollo program at NASA was in its heyday. When President John F. Kennedy announced the Apollo program, he was met with scorn. “It’s impossible,” people said, “you can’t put a man on the moon.” But JFK th


10 Minute Play (2005)
This is a play I wrote for the 2005 "10 Minute Play" festival in Oxford. It wasn't selected, but I like it a lot. Based on the true story. Crank Calls A play by: Randy M. Wadkins Based on the Douglas County and Sarpy County, Nebraska, 911 transcripts. Cast of characters: On stage: DISPATCHER: lone female 911 dispatcher Off stage: WAMSLEY(Michael Wamsley) and HORNICKEL(Janelle Hornicke)l, who are never seen but only heard over the telephone. Setting: On stage: a desk at center


Upon Lemmy's Death (2015)
Back in the late 1990s, I was living in San Antonio, Texas, and working at the San Antonio Cancer Institute. As a comic book and sci-fi nerd, I was also reading DC Comics’ “Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse,” written by Moorcock himself and drawn by Walter Simonson. I was reading this comic because (i) Moorcock is one of my favorite fantasy writers of all time and Simonson is a favorite artist, and (ii) because of the Mississippi connection. Moorcock, who presently lives in Texas

The Environment and the EPA (2018)
Q: What specific EPA regulations would you like to see adopted in Mississippi? A: First of all, the EPA is a federal regulator, so its rules take precedence over state law. What Mississippi dumps into the Mississippi river has consequences for Arkansas and Louisiana. That’s why regulation has to be at the federal level. So Mississippi doesn’t necessarily need to adopt any EPA protections, because those are already the law. What Mississippi can do is adopt protections that are


Leviticus 12 (2016)
The first chapter of a book I will complete one day.
Leviticus 12 Chapter 1 I hated this godforsaken world. The sun was blistering hot. The landscape was rocky and tan and boring. What little water fell bumped in holes on the ground from the heat of the rock. I was on patrol all day in this heat, hunting varmints. The first wave were back at the camp, lying on artificial beaches and drinking from artificial coconuts under artificial palm trees. Safely under the camp dome, t
Leviticus 12 (2016)
Opening chapter of a book named "Leviticus 12" that I will one day complete. Leviticus 12 Chapter 1 I hated this godforsaken world. The sun was blistering hot. The landscape was rocky and tan and boring. What little water fell bumped in holes on the ground from the heat of the rock. I was on patrol all day in this heat, hunting varmints. The first wave were back at the camp, lying on artificial beaches and drinking from artificial coconuts under artificial palm trees. Safe
Upon Lemmy's Death (2015)
Back in the late 1990s, I was living in San Antonio, Texas, and working at the San Antonio Cancer Institute. As a comic book and sci-fi nerd, I was also reading DC Comics’ “Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse,” written by Moorcock himself and drawn by Walter Simonson. I was reading this comic because (i) Moorcock is one of my favorite fantasy writers of all time and Simonson is a favorite artist, and (ii) because of the Mississippi connection. Moorcock, who presently lives in Texas
Crank Calls: A 10 Minute Play (2005)
I wrote this for Oxford's 10 Minute Play festival in 2005, but it was not chosen. I though it was good, though. It's based on a true story. Crank Calls A play by: Randy M. Wadkins Based on the Douglas County and Sarpy County, Nebraska, 911 transcripts. Cast of characters: On stage: DISPATCHER: lone female 911 dispatcher Off stage: WAMSLEY(Michael Wamsley) and HORNICKEL(Janelle Hornicke)l, who are never seen but only heard over the telephone. Setting: On stage: a desk at cente