What Did Your Teacher Learn In School Today
/A day at school with my daughter
————
…when McKenzie, my daughter was in the second grade I believe. Her teacher called me in the early afternoon while class was still in…
By Judge Burdon
Read MoreWriting Gallery
Our Colin
/…went through the double doors and into the social club. The room was like any other club in the Northwest, with round tables and stools filling the room, and a bar running along one end. Phil could almost hear a cheesy lounge singer murdering songs from the Nineteen Seventies. The place was empty, so he headed straight for the bar. He might as well have a pint while he waiting for the other mourners to…
By Chris Platt
Read MoreThe Tea Rooms
/…pottered half-heartedly, rearranging what didn’t need arranging. His daughter stood by the window, cup in hand, gaze fixed stern out into the sanctuary of the middle distance. They couldn’t find a safe way to put words on it, silence took up a heavy dominion. The house couldn’t hold the growing…
By Niall Crowley
Read MoreFor a Reason
/Josie loses her job and rebels when two friends tell her that "everything happens for a reason."
————
…was Adele who first told Josie that "everything happens for a reason." Josie had just lost her job, and she could not think of a single reason that this cataclysm should have…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreWhat's Up. Friends
/Friend is a flexible word with many meanings.
————
…is What’s Up radio broadcasting from big, beautiful clear-channel WALTZ. I’m Tuck Avery. My co-conspirator is Buzz Belton. We wanna know what you think about friends. We all have friends: good friends; disappointing friends. friends we didn’t know we had; all kinds of…
By K. L. Shipley
Read MoreJonathan's Leg
/When Jonathan returns home to Queens at the end of World War II, he is missing a…
————
…watched as he emerged from the car. He had crutches, and his right pant leg was pinned up. She wondered why he didn't just let the pants cascade down to the ground. Maybe he would trip, since he had no right foot…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreA Short Friendly Conversation
/School is a place where children learn different social…
————
…a few miles from the barn that was on the border there was a school yard used as a healthy exercise classroom where the students could learn basic social skills while playing. This was the time when young Paulie would interact with the villagers despite having the responsibility of being the closest real…
By Marc OBrien
Read MoreLost Lunches
/Eustacia's boss makes her job intolerable. When she quits, she finds out who her friends are.
————
…a physical blow, Andrew Amundsen's harsh words pummeled Eustacia Fleming and made her feel sick. She had been the office manager at Amundsen Insurance for ten years. Loyal, trustworthy, friendly, competent: those were words that Andrew had used to describe Eustacia on her last…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreStuff My Grandpa Told Me
/Stories my grandfather told me
————
…use the word friend often. The reason for this practice is due to my grandfather's tutelage and instruction in his many lessons of life. I was almost twelve years old fishing with my grandpa at Castle Rock Lake in Wisconsin. Actually I was the one doing the fishing, he threw in a line and left it…
By Judge Burdon
Read MoreThicker Than Water
/…had been waiting outside the gate for a long, unsettling time. I had a lot of thinking to do out there in the oppressive, midmorning sun. I looked to the left and the right. I saw nothing but the large guard tower. There was a strange sound overhead in the powerlines, the sound of static electricity. There was a fly, one pesky little bugger, who kept buzzing around my face. "Shoo," I said, trying to scare it away. But the former…
By Jack Bristow
Read More