confessions of a reformed tourist
Billy Joe Danforth didn’t catch many of the details of his parents’ accident until later. Janice the social worker continued to talk, but he didn’t hear a word. There was a roaring sound in his ears, like he was sitting under a waterfall. He looked down at her hand covering his. On her middle finger [...]
I never fully understood what happened. Had I somehow unnerved him? Shaken his confidence in himself? In me? Did I simply not need him enough? It’s true that I was focused on other things. On my syllabi and my student planner filled with color-coded post-it notes. On my clipboard and my rough drafts and my [...]
This story written for Bean and me as a gift from our friend coyotesqrl. He has a Twitter, a Tumblr and a more formal, serious blog. He’s also one of the other founding members of the round-robin writing project, Too Many Cooks. I find this story especially touching because although he has never met me [...]
Billy Joe Danforth had his heart set on baseball ever since the 2001 All-Star game, when he witnessed Alex Rodriguez offer his place to Cal Ripken. As the crowd went wild, stood up in ovation, Daddy turned to him and said, “Now you see that, son? That is respect.” Then he upended his can of [...]
That day, the day Gregory and I forgot that the sun sets, we had already known each other for years. We were both sophomores. We were both 19. We were both home for October break. And we both owned hiking boots. Weeks earlier I had promised him – over email – that I would show [...]
