Contents: June 2010

Thoughts from the Editor
     ~ Kate Lydon

Review

Review of Mary Karr's Lit: A Memoir
     ~ Joe Quinton

Stories

The Sound of Molasses
     ~ Barbara Fryrear

When the bacon was yellow-clear and crisp and smelling just right, Big Mama lifted it out onto a paper to drain. Then she took a pan of biscuits from the warming oven by the stovepipe and laid it on a folded dishtowel on the kitchen table.

My Queen of Sheba
~ Marjorie Tudor

My father had taken my mother, me, and my two sisters to a special place on the Farmington River in Farmington, Connecticut. He loved the water and was bound and determined that I would, that day at least, learn how to dog paddle.

A Tribute to Red
     ~Kristin Flick Strid

        “How bad is he?” I heard Jerry say into the receiver.

       Jerry looked at me.

        “It’s Red. Howard doesn’t think he’s going to make it.”

Having Babies is Great!
Part 2
     ~ Len Gottesman

“The second child is so much easier!” Eve exclaimed. My mother is ready to come as soon as I go into the hospital. My breasts are full of milk for Suzanne or Tommy! It will be wonderful!”

Leaving Ithan
Jackie Kearins

I was a Homeroom Mom for many years and loved to walk into the building and breathe in its scents. One would be enveloped by the smells of school: pencils and erasers, chalk, markers, leather bound books and sloppy Joe’s cooking in the lunchroom. There were bright colors and little voices everywhere.

Autobiography of Nathaniel Watson Ladd (1848-1932) Part 9

I was thirteen when the Civil War started and had a very strong desire to go in some capacity, and tried to learn to be a Drummer Boy, but there was no music in me.

Poetry

John Middlebrook
    Homework
    Early Morning Prayer
    Hometown Departure
    Passage

Kate Lydon
    Magill Road
    Dad
    In My Mother's Kitchen
    White Rose
    Mirror Glance

Lynn Ciesielski
    Honor Thy Father, A Prose Poem

Photo by Tom Varley