“I was just hoping to have a nice family day,” she says, as he moves the minivan onto the ramp to route 24. “What am I doing wrong?” says the man. “You’re just really grouchy. You could be nicer to us.” He rolls his eyes. “I don’t know when you’re going to get this. ThereContinue reading “We’re All a Family and No One is Leaving”
Author Archives: Gordon Laws
Olea, Shinehah, Kokaubeam, Kokob
Right after dinner and as it hits dark, Bill Ghormley organizes the young men into two teams, and they walk through a break in the small dunes and the dune weeds to the giant dune behind. That dune must a quarter mile long and wide. They have spent the day fishing in the waves andContinue reading “Olea, Shinehah, Kokaubeam, Kokob”
Where the Devil Lives
Devil’s Triangle—that’s how he remembers it, though he discovers later that it’s actually Satan’s Triangle. They watch it at Granny Laws’s house with their cousins on a slow summer day when their parents head out to be with each other. The TV is ancient—you can change channels by jangling keys in the air. It hasContinue reading “Where the Devil Lives”
Beware of Tree Alligators
On summer nights, they are in bed by eight when the light is still out. They can hear the red-headed Scott Starr playing with friends and siblings in his driveway. Sometimes, their best friend next door, Kevin Luzius, is still out riding his bike. The boy and his brother hate it. This night, a gustyContinue reading “Beware of Tree Alligators”
You Can’t Steal My Motorcycle!
Today is the first day of the first trip he will remember. They are in North Carolina for a trial that his father is participating in for the Department of Justice. They are staying at a hotel on the beach. They are barely into the room before the boy and his brother are in theirContinue reading “You Can’t Steal My Motorcycle!”
And Now You Know
Early each morning, the boy reads the Book of Mormon and then prays to know that it is true. He did not understand much of 2 Nephi. He sort of understood Mosiah. He really liked Alma and the war chapters because he loves Top Gun and Patton and Iron Eagle, and he thinks he wantsContinue reading “And Now You Know”
What to Do if There’s No Toilet Paper
Right before bed on campouts was story and joke time. That’s when the man’s father would dig out Grandpa’s diary of jokes and off-color stories he had picked up while working on the railroads in southern Utah. So of course, when he takes his kids on their first campout to Titicut, he figures he willContinue reading “What to Do if There’s No Toilet Paper”
Their God Would Be a Lion
Under the stars and the soft pier light they stand with poles in hand. The bass have been biting in a spot where the light shines brightest on the water. Stephen has snagged two already, while the young man has pulled in a catfish. Their dad has been skunked so far. “I never liked fishing,”Continue reading “Their God Would Be a Lion”
Damn You, Paddington Bear
Sunday morning, the boy sits in the second pew with his family. Stephen is next to him. They each have coloring books, and he is trying to stay inside the lines while Stephen is trying to draw bears on his. A speaker is at the podium saying things the boy does not understand or careContinue reading “Damn You, Paddington Bear”
The Casket Is Open
Early in the evening, the young man goes with his best friend Ted to the calling hours at Seaside Memorial Funeral Home. Chris’s mother is sitting about three pews back from the casket next to a man. She is bone thin and wearing a gray pantsuit. The man must be her second husband. Her firstContinue reading “The Casket Is Open”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 