Writer
The plane rolled up to the gate in Chicago, where I had a layover between Tampa and Moline. I grabbed my purse and smiled wide. I love airports. I hadn’t yet been to O’Hare. Inside, I weaved in and out of the crowd of travelers who had congregated at the counter. I scanned a giant …
Before my best friend drove us from her house to a homecoming party one night when we were in high school, her dad handed us a flashlight. “You might need it,” he said. We didn’t believe him. But flashlight in hand, we hit the road. We knew we were close to the home of the …
While we each began to eat our plates of Thanksgiving food, Jordan Bowser – a brother of mine from another mother – came to a realization: “I need liquid,” he said. So he stood from his seat and walked to the kitchen, where he filled a cup with root beer. On his return trip to …
My brother sat on a bench outside Gaspar’s Grotto, where one of his bands had played during brunch. A man in his 20s sat on the bench across from his, and struck up a conversation. “Any good bands playing?” “Mine just finished,” my brother said. “Another band’s up next.” The man looked at my brother’s feet. …
I drove on US Highway 19, in the far right of three lanes of northbound traffic on a Friday. Sun through the windshield. Gungor through the speakers. Twenty miles to home. My brain was ready for the weekend. My brain was not ready for the SUV. I saw the underside of it first, while it …