written By I remember the soft pressure of Kim’s hand on mine, how she stood so upright, her petite frame sinuously curved, her brown, alert eyes meeting mine for the first time, acknowledging. She and her husband, Justin, were out doing lawn work that early spring day. They were my elderly mother’s new neighbors in... Continue Reading →
I’m lagging. I’m supposed to be with a group of little kids on a walk down to the river, but I don’t want to go. It’s a walk they always send us on when we come to the 4-H camp for one of the Iowa Quaker gatherings. An older cousin, Nancy, is leading the group... Continue Reading →
The paper looked and felt real, but the words on the ballot seemed anything but. Was Jake really going to vote for scrapping the oldest and most widely known constitution in the world? On his way into the voting precinct, he’d been called “asshole lawyer,” “democratic terrorist,” and “constitution killer.” Perhaps he’d taken things too... Continue Reading →
“I’m not going to their house,” Chloe said. “I don’t want to see them.” “But they’re your grandparents, sweetie,” Mama said, looking up from the okra she was slicing into little pieces. Chloe stood by the sink, facing her mother. Her hair was styled in a pixie cut, and she was wearing overalls and low-cut... Continue Reading →
A short story by Harold Whit Williams.
I didn't want to call it daycare for the adults. First of all because it was at night and misnomers really ruffle my feathers. And second because it sounds childish, which it isn't. I settled on coaching. Reasonable adults get coaching for all kinds of things: relationships, jobs, workouts. And...
The resolve to live in the woods with only the two dogs for company had been building unexamined a long time. He had picked up the germ of the idea when a boy. Back then, he had come to look at trees as the principal emblem of a hokey folk mythology
After months of rumors, Mayfair Mutual received word they’d been acquired. Disillusioned by long hours and disappointing commissions, new hires took the news in stride, blasting out resumes and hooking up with recruiters. Carrie Winters had been thinking of quitting and returning to catering. Older employees like Ted Matthews were downcast, facing
I remember what my grandmother has long forgotten. She was an integral part of my childhood, yet she doesn’t recognize my name. Details of her own upbringing she recalls perfectly—that she grew up on a cattle farm in Wyoming and used to fall asleep on the porch gazing at
As a girl growing up on a farm in Edson, Michigan, I knew about sex from an early age. With breeding animals around, it’s something you learn, something as common as wind bending wheat on a summer’s day. And still, I was naïve. I’d seen plenty of genitalia, even watched my...
