Stories

Muskie Doll Maker

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LIFE IS THE SHIT IN PEE PEE TOWNSHIP, OHIO. I nudged one nostril shut with my knuckle and snorted a fourteen-inch festoon of fire ants melting into a pineapple popsicle….

Traps

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EVERY DAY ON THE MOUNTAIN I AWAKEN TO FISH OR FORAGE, and every day at 4pm my walkie-talkie crackles with Uncle Mack’s voice ordering us down to target practice. Afternoons, I…

Mystic Pizza II

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THERE WAS SOMETHING AWFUL ABOUT HOW THE PHONE RANG. It spoiled the oven’s hum and the patience of gathering snow. The squeak of non-slip shoe on non-slip tile. There hadn’t been…

No Matter

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WEARING A HOUSECOAT STAINED WITH BRISKET AND BORSCHT, my grandmother stands in the doorway blocking the light. She spits three times, mutters pu pu pu, mumbles a prayer. When she’s finished,…

Joy

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IT’S ANOTHER NIGHT AT THE PET STORE and I’m stocking the shelves with cat food when the new girl taps on my shoulder. She’s about half my height and is probably…

Creature

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WE FIND IT HUNCHED ON A ROOT OF A CYPRESS TREE at the edge of the bayou around eight o’clock. Dad checks the crab traps for the third time today….

Crack

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IT STARTS WITH A CRACK IN THE WALL.  It is a thin line, barely visible and it runs along the molding of the staircase leading upstairs. *** They stay at…

Three Acts for Kids

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I. HE’S NOT RIDING THE BUS TO SCHOOL; he is riding in his friend’s mother’s car. His mother saw the news about the bus and the children and she said…