Dirk Poor

Before the Crew

Small moments from Dirk's life in Fortune Falls, one story at a time.

Latest story

All six skaters working together on a half-built salvage ramp at the crossroads: Dirk Poor, Penny Pincher, Spare Chang, Omar Money, Owen Ustuph and Pam Handler

The Other Side of It · Series 6

The Same Thing

Your weakness is your strength with the light behind it.

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New here? Start from the beginning

Before the Crew · Series 1

7 storiesComplete

Story 1

Hold Fast

Dirk Poor's board has never been one piece. The story of how it got its name.

Story 2

The Quiet Whistle

The night the old factory went quiet, Dirk Poor decided what came next.

Dirk Poor and Al Fluent walking into an empty factory yard

Story 3

Fair Share

Dirk and Al find the best haul either of them has ever seen — and Dirk decides what fair means.

Dirk Poor and Al Fluent standing on old train tracks under storm clouds

Story 4

The Long Way Home

A storm, a shortcut, and the long road back — Dirk and Al learn which way home is.

Dirk Poor standing at the edge of an empty crossroads at dusk

Story 5

The Crossroads

Dirk Poor rolls an old cable spool to the emptiest place in town — and makes it somewhere people can find him.

Dirk Poor riding his skateboard alone down an empty street under a gray sky

Story 6

One More Run

At the steepest concrete bank in town, Dirk Poor learns what falling is really for.

Dirk Poor riding alone through an empty open-air market at dusk

Story 7

Nobody Watching

Alone in the empty market after closing, Dirk Poor finds out who he is when nobody's watching.

Somebody Was Here · Series 2

7 storiesComplete

Dirk isn't the only one out there anymore.

Dirk Poor riding up to a cable spool at the crossroads

Story 1

The Trade

Something in the crate at the crossroads was different. Somebody had been paying attention.

Dirk Poor sitting on the spool beside a dark streetlight at dusk

Story 2

The Humming Light

The streetlight at the crossroads had been dead for years. Then one night, it buzzed.

Dirk Poor riding up to the crossroads and stopping short at a hoop on the pole

Story 3

The Open Court

One morning, there was a hoop at the crossroads. Dirk was not good at basketball. He kept shooting anyway.

Dirk Poor sitting on the spool at the crossroads under the streetlight, looking determined

Story 4

The Storm

The biggest storm of the year came down on Fortune Falls. Dirk had made himself one promise about the spool.

Dirk Poor on the spool at night, looking across the dark town at a faint colorful glow far away

Story 5

The Glow

One night, Dirk noticed a soft glow where the old entertainment strip had been dark for years. He went anyway.

Dirk Poor sitting at the crossroads, looking thoughtfully at the hoop, streetlight and spool

Story 6

Room at the Table

Somebody was out there leaving good things behind. Dirk wanted them to know they were welcome.

Dirk Poor at the crossroads at evening, surrounded by the spool, lit streetlight, hoop and five empty seats

Story 7

Before Morning

For once, Dirk didn't go home.

Out Past the Falls · Series 3

7 storiesComplete

The crossroads has people now. Dirk starts riding past it.

Dirk Poor at the base of the falls looking up at a rusted metal staircase

Story 1

The Water Stair

You can't see the whole shape of a place while you're standing in it.

Dirk Poor standing where the pavement ends at the edge of a huge overgrown field

Story 2

The Long Field

Somebody has to go first, and it's usually nobody's job.

Dirk Poor stopped on his board in front of a small long-abandoned house with its door open

Story 3

The Quiet House

How you treat what nobody's watching over is the whole measure of you.

Dirk Poor stepping outside into hard white frost, hugging his arms, breath in the air

Story 4

The Cold Morning

A bad day's work still counts.

Dirk Poor rolling up to the near end of an old iron bridge at the edge of town

Story 5

The Far Bridge

Knowing it's there is enough for now.

Dirk Poor crouched in open country far past the falls, reaching for something on the ground

Story 6

What He Brought Back

The good stuff is for giving away.

Dirk Poor standing beside the spool at the crossroads at dusk, looking out at the road leading out of town

Story 7

Still Out Here

Going out on your own and being alone are two different things.

The Crossroads Crew · Series 4

7 storiesComplete

Five seats. Five people. Dirk finally finds out who they are.

Dirk Poor sitting on the spool at the crossroads in the late afternoon, one hand resting on the crate beside him

Story 1

The One Who Traded

The person you've been thanking in your head is a real person.

Dirk Poor sitting on the spool at the crossroads at night under a flickering streetlight

Story 2

The One Who Fixed It

The people who keep things running don't ask to be noticed.

Dirk Poor alone at the crossroads hoop, shooting a basketball toward the rim

Story 3

The One Who Played

Losing the game doesn't mean losing the afternoon.

Dirk Poor at the crossroads looking up at the darkening sky, reaching for the rope coil by the spool

Story 4

The One Who Planned

Two people who both keep their word don't need to discuss it.

Dirk Poor riding his skateboard alone down a long dark street at night toward a faint colored glow

Story 5

The One Who Made It Glow

Beautiful things have somebody behind them.

Dirk Poor sitting alone on the wooden cable spool at the center of the crossroads at early evening, five empty scrap seats ringed around him

Story 6

Five Seats

You don't get a crew. You build a place for one, and then they show up.

Morning at the crossroads: Penny Pincher, Spare Chang, Omar Money, Owen Ustuph and Pam Handler each on one of the five scrap seats, Dirk Poor up on the spool at the center

Story 7

The First Run

This is the part that was worth waiting for.

Where You're From · Series 5

7 storiesComplete

Seven districts. Every one of them somebody's home ground.

Dirk Poor and Penny Pincher at the entrance to Penny Plaza, rows of full market stalls stretching ahead of them

Story 1

Bring Something to Swap

Everybody has something worth trading. Including you.

Dirk Poor and Spare Chang arriving at the open front of a workshop beside old rail tracks, benches of half-built machines inside

Story 2

Waiting for Its Next Job

Unfinished isn't the same as failed.

Dirk Poor and Omar Money arriving at empty outdoor basketball courts by an old rec center

Story 3

Whoever Shows Up

The best places are the ones nobody gets turned away from.

Dirk Poor and Owen Ustuph arriving at the edge of a tidy salvage yard with neatly stacked materials

Story 4

Done Right

Taking care of things is a way of caring about people.

Dirk Poor and Pam Handler standing at one end of a long street of dark, closed-up storefronts

Story 5

One Wall at a Time

You don't fix a whole place at once.

Dirk Poor stopped on a path between junk piles, patting his pockets

Story 6

Lost Isn't Gone

Lost isn't gone.

Dirk Poor, Penny Pincher, Spare Chang, Omar Money, Owen Ustuph and Pam Handler together on a weathered Fortune Falls street at dusk

Story 7

The Hill

You don't have to climb somebody else's hill to know your own ground is worth something.

The Other Side of It · Series 6

7 storiesComplete

The thing you're best at is usually the thing that trips you up.

Dirk Poor standing in the entrance to a packed storage corner of stacked crates and bins while Penny Pincher adds one more thing to a pile

Story 1

What She Couldn't Trade

Keeping something and holding on to it aren't the same thing.

Dirk Poor sitting on a stool in a cluttered garage workshop while Spare Chang reaches for new parts on the workbench

Story 2

Finish It

Finishing is its own kind of skill.

Dirk Poor and Omar Money riding side by side down a quiet Fortune Falls street in warm afternoon light

Story 3

Nobody Won

Not everything needs a winner.

Owen Ustuph standing over materials laid out in neat measured rows beside a section of old fence while Dirk Poor arrives to help in the morning light

Story 4

When the Plan Breaks

A plan is a place to start, not a promise.

Pam Handler working on a half-finished bottle cap and glass wall with one bare patch while Dirk Poor arrives carrying a box of salvaged pieces

Story 5

Bend a Little

Standing firm and standing still are only one step apart.

Dirk Poor crouched by a small stash in an alley, lifting out a worn tin box

Story 6

The One He Won't Give Up On

You can keep hoping without standing still.

Story 7

The Same Thing

Your weakness is your strength with the light behind it.

The Old Factory · Series 7

7 storiesComing Soon

The building that closed and took the town's work with it. Nobody's been inside in years.

Coming soon

Story 1

The Gate

Everybody in Fortune Falls grew up outside that fence. Dirk and Owen went in.

Coming soon

Story 2

The Floor

The work floor is bigger than the whole crossroads. It's completely empty.

Coming soon

Story 3

What They Left

Dirk found the things people left behind the day it closed.

Coming soon

Story 4

The Long Bench

One line, a hundred stations, one small job each. Spare explains why it worked.

Coming soon

Story 5

Letting the Light In

The skylights were painted over. Pam started scraping.

Coming soon

Story 6

Worth Hauling

There's something good still in there. It's nowhere near the door.

Coming soon

Story 7

The Whistle

The whole town heard it stop. Nobody expected to hear it again.