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
Author: crowcityblog
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
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
Crows
My brother gave me an album of photographs and important papers that my father left behind. I keep it out of sight in the basement. But sometimes, late at night, when the rest of my family is asleep, I drink too much wine and think about the past. My father sits on a stool in … Continue reading Crows
Roswell City Limits
My father died on February 25th, 2012. He was 67 years old. He had made an appointment to see a doctor that day, but the pain got to be too much and he ended up dialing 911. He had a perforated stomach that led to septicemia which is a bacterial infection of the blood. He … Continue reading Roswell City Limits
