Near dusk, they knock a door halfway down the street. The woman says nothing but immediately waves them in. She motions to the couch and the young man and his companion sit. “Do you guys have any more videos you could leave me?” “Did missionaries give you some of our videos?” “Yeah, you guys did.”Continue reading “Green Light”
Category Archives: Life and Death
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”
I’m a OG
It is dusk in the snake pit. The door opens, and the man immediately lets them in, motioning them to a card table in the kitchen. He is probably mid-twenties, black, trim, and wearing dreds and a white muscle shirt. “Always good to see people who represent the Lord.” They chit chat a few minutes,Continue reading “I’m a OG”
Why Don’t You Try Something Different?
The man sits on a leather couch. He keeps his phone at arm’s length and facedown. His therapist is how you picture a therapist—a sweater, salt and pepper hair, glasses, trim, legs crossed, leather shoes, a steno pad on his lap and a pen in his right hand. They are two-thirds through the session. “SoContinue reading “Why Don’t You Try Something Different?”
Revelations Communicate Divine Intelligence
What the man would like to know is if the dreams are revelatory. He has read about Joseph and his interpretation of dreams. He has studied Lehi’s dream. He has studied Daniel and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. In his stewardship interview with the stake president, he asks, because after all,Continue reading “Revelations Communicate Divine Intelligence”
To All Soces
The editorial page editor sits at the computer where they layout the school newspaper. He is planning to write more about the new president but Chris gave him a letter to the editor in the hall. Now he reads it. Dear Editor: There are many people in this school who think they are better thanContinue reading “To All Soces”
Now They Always Say Congratulations
It is 9 pm. He is still in his white shirt and suit pants but has removed his tie. He sits in the dimly lit kitchen of their 800 square foot condo. Before him are two piles—on the left are the unedited pages and on the right are the reedited pages. He messed up theContinue reading “Now They Always Say Congratulations”
Where There is No Vision
His cell rings and he is annoyed because she should have left the preschool right behind him but still isn’t home. He doesn’t even say hello. “What are you doing? You shoulda been—” “Be quiet and listen for a minute. We were in an accident.” Twenty minutes later, they are at the jagged intersection nextContinue reading “Where There is No Vision”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 