Welcome to the North Country
After completing graduate school, my wife, Mikayla, and I, and Maryanne, our 2-year-old daughter, headed for a small town in the North Country where I started my teaching career. We rented a 12 x 60-foot mobile home, and our life in the North Country began. On the third morning, we were visited by the trailer park manager, Mr. Miller. “How do, folks? I come by t’ give y’ this list o’ park rules and tell y’ ’bout th’ roof and th’ heat tape.” He gave us a sheet of paper. “Them are th’ park rules. Y’ got t’ keep...
Read MoreLife in the Movies
I’ve been catching up on movies lately, and found myself thinking about how much simpler everyday life would be if it followed movie rules. For one thing, it would be more convenient: in the movies, everyone speaks English. It doesn’t matter what area or era, though with older settings like ancient Greece or Rome, speech is usually delivered — strangely enough — in a British accent. If it’s a question of British English speakers versus American English speakers, then the British-speaking person is invariably either a boor, or evil. And if someone speaks in a non-English language,...
Read MoreThe First I Heard of It
Most of the nine months I should’ve spent in the third grade I spent in bed. On the first Friday in September of that school year, my mother got me and my brother up like she always does. Then she said she was keeping me home today. She didn’t say why, and I stopped asking after the look she gave the second time. I didn’t want to push her into one of her whacking moods. She didn’t seem to have any problem with Louis going to school though. He was in fifth grade at Cooperstown Elementary. He and I polished off our Lucky Charms and bananas, like we usually would, but neither of...
Read MoreNew Crop
An article in The Christian Science Monitor reported that some Burmese peasants believe democracy is something to eat. When the students told us about this plant a few months ago, they were not sure precisely what it was either, but they said it will change our lives. They’d heard it will make hair grow on bald heads. People who eat it must battle to keep from wearing a silly smile, they like it so much. The soil gets better when it grows there. The produce is at chest and stomach level so when you pick, you don’t have to stoop or reach; yet the rest of the plant can be...
Read MoreYoung Love
Arlan and Diana met at Freshman Orientation. She fantasized running her fingers through his thick, curly hair. He ogled her tight, round ass. By the end of their first week of classes, they shared breakfast at the Union every morning and dinner in the evening. A few weeks later, he mentioned that his roommate had dropped out, and no one had been assigned to his dorm room. She moved in, and they remained inseparable. Without ever really dating, they discussed marriage after graduation. Although their relationship seemed ideal, one thought tugged at the back of...
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