I hardly recognize my city . . . because this isn’t my city. We have a lot of guests and I think we’ll all be very happy to see them leave. Many are well-meaning, supplying aid and food donations. Some are here to protest and mourn. While others came here to destroy or to agitate. … Continue reading Sons of Anarchy
Minnesota Burning–Part 2
There’s always peace and graffiti down by the river. I did a bit of fishing this morning to refresh my mind from all the terrible events. I wrote first, so I didn’t get out to the water in time for any kind of bite. But I got in some great fly casting and took some … Continue reading Minnesota Burning–Part 2
Minnesota Burning–Part 1
Back in March, when I learned about the pandemic's potential severity, I could not sleep. Something was coming. Something I could not control or understand. I panicked. That morning, I instructed my wife to shop. I told her to stock up on canned goods. I explained that no one was going to risk their … Continue reading Minnesota Burning–Part 1
High Risk
As I sort letters into the boxes of a cramped apartment vestibule, I observe a man slowly progress up the concrete steps toward me. It’s painful to watch. His mouth and nose are swaddled by a bandanna, almost like a gag, as he plods along with the assistance of a cane. I hold the … Continue reading High Risk
Sons of Liberty
They finally gave us washable cloth masks at work. When I brought one home, my wife commented that it looked like a young girl’s panties. That thought had definitely not occurred to me. Soft, small, white and, yes, cottony. That is, after Emily said it, what they looked like. I couldn’t get … Continue reading Sons of Liberty
Redcoats
The value of a human life is not diminished because there are seven and a half billion of us. Can you remember that scene in Schindler’s List when the little girl in the red coat ambles through the black-and-white rubble of a devastated city? She is that anonymous statistic bestowed with color, that rare … Continue reading Redcoats
Inside the Pig Palace—Smithfield Remembered
Author's note: It's been strange and horrifying to see my hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota featured in so many news stories about the Coronavirus pandemic. The following narrative describes my experience working at the now-shuttered Smithfield meatpacking plant. The facility formally known as John Morrell's has been in operation since 1911 and was acquired … Continue reading Inside the Pig Palace—Smithfield Remembered
After the Plague
There were boyhood summers on the Dakota plains, when my mother would douse me with DEET and insist, to my acrimonious protest, that I wear long sleeves even if the temperature was a sultry 87. Sometimes, if the mosquitoes were swarming over the porch in the evening, she would forbid me from venturing outside … Continue reading After the Plague
Macabre Mailboxes and a Minneapolis Murder Mystery
As a letter carrier, I get paid to walk in circles. It is not such a horrible thing to stroll through the same neighborhood every day, although the job does get dull and the weather is sometimes horrible. Like any walker, I note the banal passage of the seasons. I had forgotten this collection of … Continue reading Macabre Mailboxes and a Minneapolis Murder Mystery
A Story With Wings
I just wanted to thank all my readers and extend an invitation to check out my story, "Wasted Meat," which appears in the latest (Nov/Dec 2019) issue of Gray's Sporting Journal which is available now at Barnes and Noble. I knew "Wasted Meat" was a special story when I wrote it, perhaps my best. Success, … Continue reading A Story With Wings
