DEBRIS FIELD by Cynthia Hawkins The day the tornado hit, Gladys and her partner Emma had lived in the screened-in back porch of the Sumner House on Mulberry Street for three weeks, their bed a camper mattress, their nightstand a moving box marked “museum catalogues” in red ink. Pressing further into the house—a 1905 two-story … [Read more…]
A GOOD STEWARD by Lawrence F. Farrar Tendrils of coastal fog lingered over the Santa Clara Valley that March morning in 1946. The risen sun bathed the fields and orchards in nourishing warmth, and, like untethered blimps, white clouds floated here and there in the purple-blue sky. It was the first spring after the war, and … [Read more…]
CASITA by Cameron Hunt McNabb The house smelled like Seventh Avenue on a Saturday morning, as if all the bakeries and markets had moved into our kitchen. That was funny because it actually was Saturday morning, but I’m pretty sure the stores were all still there. I could make out ropa vieja from Papi’s factory friends … [Read more…]
SWEET PEA by Thomas Mundt I have Sweet Pea on hold. She needs a moment to collect her thoughts, and her bills. They are voluminous, the lion’s share issued by her aromatherapist, and keeping track of them has almost become a full-time job. Which is good, because Sweet Pea has been between gigs since conception. … [Read more…]
THE END OF THE COLD WAR by L.S. Bassen 25th December 1989. Leonard Bernstein gave a concert in Berlin celebrating the collapse of the Wall, conducting the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s ninth symphony, altering the lyric “Joy” (freude) to “Freedom” (freiheit). Rain hit the house as Cara stood snug by the front bay window, … [Read more…]