*This is not a short-short. It’s pretty long. Just fair warning. Patience with this, as well. It may read, at points, like a sermon or a polemic. It’s not. Down the hill and up the trail from Otis and Mercy Warren’s plot is a row of headstones, one of which the man notices because ofContinue reading “The Tomb Is Empty”
Category Archives: Adult Years
The Lost Cause
Lucia is sitting at the kitchen table with books and a Chrome book open. Her hair is tied in a low bun, and when she sees him come in from his workout, she looks up. “Big news, Dad. We have to do a research paper for history class, and one of the options was toContinue reading “The Lost Cause”
In Ramah, Lamentation
The man is in a crowd of people, and he is given a locker room key. The number on the key is 1065. He enters a locker room—it is the old Carroll High School JV locker room. He walks through the locker room and cannot find his locker. He goes through the freshman locker room.Continue reading “In Ramah, Lamentation”
Put Your Trust in Ice Cream
They are in Corpus Christi to visit, and upon their arrival, Mom declared that she had done no shopping because she didn’t know what they would want since they had a baby now so they would need to go to the store. Fine, no problem. They are now at HEB with Grant in his carContinue reading “Put Your Trust in Ice Cream”
Yankee Clipper
The man settles into the barber chair for his appointment. Dick is back for the first time in months. Grant is two-and-a-half, and his hair is overgrown. He sits on a chair just across from the barber’s chair, waiting his turn. The door opens, and an old-timer walks in. He sees gray-haired Dick and smiles.Continue reading “Yankee Clipper”
The Bridge Between Here and There
The man has been home from his mission for a month. Thanksgiving was yesterday, and Lauren Elliott is staying in the guest bedroom upstairs. They knew each other as missionaries, and she offered to come to his homecoming talk, which happens to be Thanksgiving weekend. So he invited her for the holiday. They are notContinue reading “The Bridge Between Here and There”
Remember the Massacre!
They have just finished the spiritual thought in ward council. The man looks down at the agenda, then up at the group in front of him. He’s about to ask Rachel, the Relief Society president, to discuss her organization when Katie, the Primary president, says, “Have you all watched the PBS documentaries on the Church?”Continue reading “Remember the Massacre!”
You Got Skunked!
Lucia is almost four and Lindsay is eighteen months. All winter, the scent of skunk has lingered around their yard, and they can’t make out where it is coming from. It is a warm spring day. The girls are in the backyard while Grant is at a summer school activity. Lucia bolts inside and cries,Continue reading “You Got Skunked!”
Hush, My Daddy
The man settles into his place at the table with his plate full of curry chicken atop rice. Grant is five, and he is on his knees on his chair. Rice is already scattered around his plate, and he has knocked the green beans off. Lucia is sitting on a chair next to him. SheContinue reading “Hush, My Daddy”
A Lot of Time to Think
The man shows up to the Massachusetts Treatment Center in a white shirt and tie. “Treatment Center” is a misnomer in most people’s minds–this is a medium security prison for sex offenders. The man is here because a stake president from the North Shore has told him of a resident named TG who grew upContinue reading “A Lot of Time to Think”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 