Tag: Lit of J

  • Dog Days of Summer

    I ran out the door into the summer night, the smell of gasoline reeking from  our ’97 Toyota Corolla. My father had stopped to work on its breaks while he brought my dog on a walk. “I always tell him to put her on a leash,” I turned and said to my brother. “Dad never listens.”…

  • Next Day Air

    “Another letter came for you in the mail today, Malcolm,” momma said. “It’s your father again.” This had been the fifth letter I received in almost three weeks; the previous four letters proved to be his unsuccessful attempts at soliciting two of my four graduation tickets. It had been about three weeks ago when the…

  • You Can Go Home Again

    We left her standing at the curb.  As we drove away, my mother cried and stared at the shrinking shape of my sister in the rear view mirror. Lunch had been terrible that day.  I did everything I could to make Tess feel as guilty as possible for leaving me.  New Zealand is on the…

  • Bringing Home The Bacon

    My father’s arms are crossed, his shoulders erect. His 6 foot 4 inch body towers over the kitchen counter that creates a barrier between him and us. “Dad, this is Connor.” They don’t shake hands. I had spent the last hour and a half chewing my fingernails as we drove from New Paltz to Albany.…

  • Bedside Manner

    My sister and I are waiting in our mother’s empty hospital room. We’re both too tired to speak, so we stare at our Blackberrys. It’s been a rough 36 hours. As my sister sits up against the wall, furiously texting my cousin updates we don’t have, I’m sprawled out on my mom’s bed, trying not to…