Orphaned Again
I am a few miles from the spot where my father ended his life, on this date, in such weather, thirty one years ago, when he was my present age of fifty three.
Where Is My Father?
I wrecked my car a few days after my dad disappeared. I spun out on black ice in Elgin, Illinois, wrapping the car around a utility pole. I had graduated college about six months earlier, and though flat broke I had bought a brand-new Pontiac secured with nothing but a job-acceptance letter. I am by…
Everything’s Gonna Be All Right: 2
“Which parent do you feel closest to?” He was a caricature of a child psychologist: sandy, side-parted hair, large wire-rimmed glasses, dressed like Mr. Rodgers. He spoke with a soft, low, monotonous voice, barely above a whisper. I considered carefully, looking off to one side, and answered very slowly, “I’d have to say… my mother……
Squirrel
“Glen, why is your window open?!” It was a fair question, considering we were on the school bus en route to Horlick High School in Racine, Wisconsin, and it was about ten below zero outside. A few moments later, my face red with shame, a tear of humiliation freezing on my cheek, I thought of…
Parting: Are You My Mother?
Act I: Racine, Scene 21: Parting Exterior, bright, bitter cold (-5F), 7:45 am, Thursday, February 12, 1981. Hotel vestibule in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. Glen, age 16, and his mother Rita stand in the vestibule in heavy parkas, waiting in awkward silence. Rita: Can you give me Lori’s phone number? I may want to talk to…
A Wonder Of Feeling 