My wife Ruth has been gone eleven years. Her first husband, Daniel, has been gone thirty-two. And for eleven years I have read her letters to him — all of …
The Letter She Wrote To The Man She Hadn’t Met Yet Read More
The inspector from the county came out on a Tuesday, took forty minutes of photographs, and left a red notice on our barn door that condemned it in the name …
Thirty Days to Tear Down My Grandfather’s Barn Read More
My mother-in-law spent eleven years teaching her grandchildren her mother’s language. Saturday mornings. A coffee can full of verb cards. No exceptions. We thought the teenagers had quit years ago. …
The Language That Lives in All of Us Read More
“The oak dresser to me, obviously.” “Dad’s watch should go to Greg, that’s just fair.” “Tell [my wife] she can have the dishes, LOL.” She never saw it. She died …
The Group Chat They Thought No One Would Ever Read Read More
I called code enforcement on the widow at the end of Holly Lane. I want that sentence to sit here for a second, because I’ve spent four months trying to …
I Reported an Eighty-One-Year-Old Widow Over Eleven Inches Read More
The assistant director of Pinewood Estates called it “a documentation error.” Those are her words, from the email, sent at 7:58 in the morning like a parking ticket. Here are …
My Father’s Burial Flag Went Out with Tuesday’s Trash Read More
My brother Ray spent eight months in a VA hospital bed, and in the fourth month — while he was learning how to hold a fork again — I sold …
I Sold Our Herd While Ray Relearned to Hold a Fork Read More
A gray F-150 parks near the hospital employee lot every winter morning at 5:30. A set of jumper cables rests on the passenger seat. A paper sign sits in the …
The Truck the Night Shift Started Read More
Every Sunday at 5:40 a.m., before the church walkers reach the sidewalk, one man on Court Street opens his grill and rakes last night’s coals to the center. By 6:10, …
The Grills on Court Street Read More
Miss Ada sent a card to every member of our church on the anniversary of their baptism. Fifty-one years. Four hundred members. The date was never missed and never late. …
The Cards Ada Wrote Ahead Read More