When I was a kid, my mom thought the world was a very dangerous place.  It wasn’t just her, either – all parents seemed afflicted with this strange mania that made them believe around every dark corner, in any shadow lurked something unspeakable ready to snatch up wayward children that stumbled into its grasp. We were told the rules, over and over and over: Never take candy from strangers. Always come in before the streetlights ...
Read the Full Story

I have slept six hours in the past eight days. Time is beginning to slow to a crawl, dragging my perception behind it like an ...
Read More

Part I London, 1982 Like a dog come running at his master’s whistle, I RSVP’d yes on an invitation to Vernon Copeland’s Halloween party to ...
Read More

“So, you ready?” Will stands proudly at the bedroom door. His backpack is strapped on securely, but he still holds on to the straps, a ...
Read More

For Elombe, at first, the night began like any other. Wakefulness came in a flash.  He sat upright in his straw mat, fingers clenched tight ...
Read More

After World War II, Russian agents descended upon German specialists habituating in the Soviet Occupation Zone, and forcefully deported them to the USSR to work ...
Read More

Fact: according to the Insurance Information Institute, there is a one in one hundred and sixteen chance that you, taking your car out for a ...
Read More

27For the past three weeks it was the same dream every night. Strangely enough, the whole scene is in black-and-white, with a grainy finish, like ...
Read More

It was August in Alabama, half past noon, and suffocatingly hot. It was beautiful outside, with pines lining the road and the smell of their ...
Read More

A heavy mist rolled over the lush grass of the cemetery, muting the hues of green land and blue sky with a heavy veil of ...
Read More

My Aunt Mel was one of the strongest women I ever knew.  She stepped in to raise my little brother Keith and me after we ...
Read More

You know those people who you tell the time of events to fifteen minutes earlier than they start because you know they’ll be late?  The ...
Read More

I worked for over twenty years as a police officer for the Lindley County Sheriff’s Office before retiring at the beginning of last year.  I’ve ...
Read More