We had chosen our baseball teams in the alley behind our houses like always and started to walk down the block to the special lot, the one we still called our prairie; the only open space left in our neighborhood… Continue Reading
Every time my grandpa, my mother’s father, visited us he always brought a crate of fruits or vegetables, whatever he just harvested. I remember I was in second grade when he came by with the crate and asked how I… Continue Reading
40th reunion. 40. How did she get so old so fast? She was popular and had plans. A “most likely to…” type. Succeed. Be on TV. Own a beach house in La Jolla. She did none of that and didn’t… Continue Reading
First day of a new spring still dawns gray and drear, dampness lingering in the chill morning air, and this will persist, forecasters say, for several more. But then the sun, at last comes sun, yellow gold morning and evening,… Continue Reading
The lithe woman in a flowery muslin dress attacks her Olympia typewriter on her timeworn desk. Near an open window, a Fendt tractor rattles. The engine’s tack tack tack travels into the county office on a hot breeze. Dark eyes… Continue Reading
He pulled into the Chevron station in Orlando, looked left and noticed Clint Eastwood pumping gas into his Ford F-150 while Marilyn Monroe, perched in the passenger seat, applied lipstick via the rearview mirror. Moments later Elston pushed a shopping… Continue Reading
You’ve just brushed your teeth and stand before a basin of cloudy water. The cause of blockage is head hair. Your spouse washes her hair in the sink. You can fix this. Don’t get in a tizzy. You won’t be… Continue Reading
She has been hearing a faint ticking above her. Not regular, only after long pauses. She turns on the lamp beside her, gets out of bed, stands beneath the ceiling fan from which she’s sure the sound originates. It’s not… Continue Reading
Jim sat at the kitchen table, turning his coffee mug around and around. The clock on the wall ticked louder than usual. Outside, rain tapped softly against the window. He looked up when he heard the front door open. “You’re… Continue Reading
It was a good year for flowers. My parents’ flower farm was small petunias compared to the big players in the game, but it provided a decent living for them and me and my brothers. We didn’t have the massive… Continue Reading