The Sink
Finally it was our turn for the bathroom. The four of us—me, Julie, and the two guys we’d just met—crammed onto the square of grimy tiles...
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The Ass of Otranto
Was this a kneeling holy day, like the Friday that’s Good, good for those who can loaf, though it’s a bad time for sheep when fasting...
Lew Jenkins Lightweight Champion of the World
The world will break your heart, with or without your help, but drunks and fighters like to give it a hand now and then. I was both at...
Jack Sharkey Heavyweight Champion of the World
When Ernie Schaaf fought the freak Carnera, Sharkey worked his corner. After the knockout he carried him like a bride to the dressing...
Johnny Wilson Middleweight Champion of the World
I grew up with the gangster Frank Morello, who started by making little dolls— tiny, tan women, sanded and polished, anatomically...
The Parrot
Mrs. Hutchinson died from a pet store robbery a few months ago. She couldn’t afford parrot food, so she’d hoofed it to the PetPal, slung...
Meditation
I’d been at Buenos Kriyas Beach Front Yoga and Retreat Center in Costa Rica for four days, four days of rice and vegetables, four days of...
We Were Not the Crazy Ones
My friends and I stood in the driveway talking some dumb shit while the owner’s trailer rattled with reggaeton, and down in the yard...
Automatic American Misters
I end up in Costco around midnight. The heavy doors of the store are frozen open—one stunned electric eye, the wide glass panes pocketed...
Gilda
An image of Rita Hayworth’s face advertising the popular film Gilda was pasted on the bomb used for nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. When...
It Wasn’t Her Real Name
Friendship was of no concern to him no real acquaintances either several co-workers though none of whom had affection for him or he for...
Hector
Hector and I were with the Parkies, those burnouts from the Midwest working every minimum wage job at our beloved National Parks. It gave...
The Yellow House
In third term our English teacher Miss Sotheby had an accident. I only discovered after the weekend. That was on the day my allergies...
All My Pretty Ones
It is easy enough to purchase a plane ticket from Boston to Kansas City over the phone in 1987 using the memorized numbers of your...
All in Favor
We found the rattlesnake curled up in the shade by the roots of a large creosote bush, and if we had walked a foot to either side we...