What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me

What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me

What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me Donna Gordon Chapter 1 Lee knew for a fact that his obituary was already written, by the same reporter who interviewed President Jimmy Carter last fall, shortly after his election. He hoped the headline would be dignified. Lee...
Shelter Me

Shelter Me

Shelter Me Kirby Fields Nana is in one corner, threatening to call the police. Dad is in the other telling her to go ahead and do it. She holds the phone in her left hand, her right index finger hovering over the keypad like she’s about to detonate a bomb. My brothers...
Mother of a Hanged Girl

Mother of a Hanged Girl

Mother of a Hanged Girl Chad V. Broughman Damp winds lashed at the town square, tipping hats and rustling papery leaves against the scaffold. Ruth’s bonnet lifted and a lock of reddish-yellow hair spilled over her eye. The girl forgot her hands were bound and when she...
A Fool’s Errand

A Fool’s Errand

A Fool’s Errand John Galvin I was drafted a year out of high school, was shuttled from Ft. Knox to Ft. Dix to Ft. Bliss, spent a year in Tacoma, Washington. There were no wars at the time, only tensions, so I never made it over seas. When I was discharged, I returned...
The Blacksmith’s Daughter

The Blacksmith’s Daughter

The Blacksmith’s Daughter Patrick Vala-Haymes Blood and iron have always had much the same scent for me. I have never been one to blanch or wrinkle my nose at either. • • • Winter blew through the open gate of the smithy. I peeked out from beneath the canopy of my...