Volume 6 Number 1

Afterbirth

Sunset, and we are waving at a yacht full of loud, beautifully dressed people. The fog has moved in with a certain presence and siditiness,…

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Returning Children

As Steven remembers, it was a quiet winter drive to Pearland return- ing his stepfather Richard’s natural children, Ricky, Kathleen and Susan, to their natural…

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Astronauts under the Sea Dance

The Challenger Space Shuttle exploded in 1986, just 73 seconds after blast off. Christa McAuliffe, the first member of the Teacher in Space Project, and…

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The Perpetrator

Near the end of the summer, some years ago, when I was still a young man, during harvest time, the beginning of harvest time, actually,…

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Transaction

I used to go to a Girl Scout camp that allowed boys. They were perhaps the maintenance crew, or locals, or lifeguards that lived in…

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Learning to Play on a Borrowed Guitar

Bath, England, 1960 Everyone who lifted the guitar’s case was surprised by its pull, its heft, the sturdy Gretsch dead weight in the cloth-lined box….

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Who Put The Dead Lizard In My Rubbish Bin?

1. How did you even get into the garage? The deadbolt was turned and the dog door was locked. 2. Was the creature dead when…

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Yard Work

For the past few weeks, my neighbor has been trimming his yard with scissors. He usually starts in the evening, when I’ve just finished putting…

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Morning Scene

Three steps lead from the street to the entrance of the office building. A large glass door is fitted with brass frames, as are the…

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The Jar Effect

I wrote a song that transforms the listener into a glass jar. I threw it together on a synthesizer. Everyone thinks I used maracas for…

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