The woman who stood in front of me in the checkout line at the grocery store had Down syndrome. She was shorter than me by almost a foot and I couldn’t tell how old she was.
Future Perfect by Tricia Theis
Category: Essays
Small Offerings by Jen Grow
In 1995, I was living in a tent in the southern Appalachians trying to stay sober. I was twenty-eight years old, working at a camp for the summer, keeping notes of it all.
The Bolan Mail by Roberto Loiederman
The train runs once per day in each direction. It carries mail, packages, cargo, and passengers, who have the option of sleeper class, sleeper class with air conditioning, and— cheapest of all—economy class, which was what I took in 1973…
The Key Chain by Jennifer Fliss
On my Christmas tree hangs a key chain masquerading as an ornament. It is a small red, white, and blue beaded dog. The colors aren’t Christmasy…
The Lost Art by Scott Loring Sanders
We’d been visiting our son in Arkansas and were now on Highway 69 near Atoka, Oklahoma, heading south. That’s when I noticed the inconspicuous sign.
Bus Ride with Violins by David Daniel
I decided to take a city bus, something I rarely did…. most of the places I needed to go to I could walk, and besides, I had a car.
Hot has a Smell in the Desert by Jaclyn Maria Fowler
I run a school in the desert. The United Arab Emirates hired me, an English-speaking, pseudo-Catholic from a foreign country, and put me in charge of their children.
Ball Don’t Lie by Geoff Director
The first time Richie and I showed up to play at the Central Park basketball courts by 85th street, we heard a collective groan from the regulars.
Unspeakable by Joyce H. Munro
In those days, he was always grousing about something. Misplaced glasses, cold coffee, empty sugar bowl. Then after a ten-second spiel, his annoyance would trail off like smoke
The Heart’s Chambers by Patricia M. Dwyer
“In a healthy heart…” My cardiologist’s words linger in my mind. I listen carefully as she sketches an image of a heart on the back of her notepad. It looks something like a big beetle from where I lay on the hospital bed…
