One summer night in 1912, the village constable informed Abraham Abramowitz, age 18, that he was to report for conscription into the Czar’s army the following morning. This did not sit well with Abraham, since his Uncle Yitzhak had told… Continue Reading
Bzzzt. Mariah tried not to look at the phone rattling on the wood-patterned laminate next to the engraved James Robertson nameplate. Because three years at the same Godforsaken bank and they hadn’t given Mariah her own desk. “Are you James?”… Continue Reading
Pull ropes from red and white, twist, stick on wax paper-covered pans. Inhale air that’s hot, sickly sweet, and still smells a bit like horse. “They’re going to love your candy canes this year,” says Mom with her pin-up girl… Continue Reading
Dear Mrs. Claus, You may wonder why I’m writing to you instead of Mr. Claus. After all, I am the father of a beautiful two-and-a-half-year-old girl, Adrienne, so surely I must have a Christmas list that stretches miles long: Elsa… Continue Reading
The glass walls of the French press were still warm. Coffee drips splattered a trail from the press to a pale pink mug, full cup of creamy deliciousness. She knew without even tasting it that it was exactly 1/3 cream.… Continue Reading
The breeze was cool, bracing, a stark contrast to the sun on that autumn day, beams of heat blasting through the treetops and warming me intermittently as we walked through the forest. The wide path through the trees was hemmed… Continue Reading
This is the part of my job I love the most, waking up before dawn to conduct routine maintenance on the flags that fly on top of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. This morning the skyline is like a picture my… Continue Reading
Tim looked up from filling his tank and saw a middle-aged man. Tim’s mobile phone rang. Damn, it was his secretary again. “Yes, Sylvia… The meeting’s at three.” He sighed. “Can’t you do anything yourself? … No, you can’t leave… Continue Reading
Angels can only see in metaphors, and this fact tends to be as inconvenient for the Heavenly Hosts as it is for the people we try to help. Each Angel has a unique interpretation of the world. Mine is beaded… Continue Reading
The shotgun blast that rendered my face unrecognizable as human was reported quite sanitarily in the news. “A man was shot in the face with a shotgun last night during a convenience store robbery gone bad. Doctors at Lutheran Hospital… Continue Reading