JS called Saturday morning to let them know that he was sick to his stomach and couldn’t make it that night. Like Lauren, he was a type 1 diabetic. Sunday, he did not show for church, and Lauren told the man to call him. He did and got only voicemail. Monday was the day ofContinue reading “I’m Sorry to Call You with This News on Christmas Eve”
Tag Archives: Friends
Permanent Name Taker
Ben has shaggy red hair and freckles. He is stocky, while his buddy Aaron is skinny with wavy blond hair. The boy is on the field behind the school for gym time. It is his first week at Sanders Elementary in Corpus Christi. They moved over the summer from San Antonio. They are playing soccer.Continue reading “Permanent Name Taker”
All Apologies
“You go to Chris’s funeral?” he asks P, sitting next to her at Bayfront Park. “Yeah. You? I didn’t see you there but there were a lot of people.” “Nah. I did the viewing. Was kinda done after that. How was the funeral?” “It wasn’t him. He would have hated it. The minister kinda pissedContinue reading “All Apologies”
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”
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”
Don’t Cut Yourself
The sun is high and hot. The young man is hanging around with the running backs and receivers. Brian is new to the team—tall, bulging biceps, and a tattoo, all as an eighth grader. “Dude, what’s up with your wrists?” says Javier. “Oh, I got a super sharp knife and I cut myself.” “On purpose?”Continue reading “Don’t Cut Yourself”
They Won’t Kill Me if I’m with You
The young man and Elder Johnson tap on the door, and a young Latino waves them in quickly. “You didn’t see no one else out there, did you?” he says. “No,” says the young man, as he sits down on the couch. “Why? What’s up, Anthony?” Anthony peeks out the window, which is covered byContinue reading “They Won’t Kill Me if I’m with You”
What This Neighborhood Needs
They have parked the car and just finished praying together. The young man looks at Elder Davis. “So we’ll check this media referral and if no one is here, we’ll tract this street.” “Sounds good.” The street they have come to is the outside edge of the snake pit—a two-mile area on the west sideContinue reading “What This Neighborhood Needs”
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”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 