From then on whenever he heard the song he thought of the death of Munson. It was the Jackson 5 after all who put Ray Carney back in the game following four years on the straight and narrow. The straight and narrow—it described a philosophy and a territory, a neighborhood with borders and local customs. … Read more
To Live Is… “A thousand years in the past, a thousand years in the future—no matter where you live or how rich or poor you are—the four phases of a woman’s life are the same,” Respectful Lady says. “You are a little girl, so you are still in milk days. When you turn fifteen, you … Read more
1900, Travancore, South India She is twelve years old, and she will be married in the morning. Mother and daughter lie on the mat, their wet cheeks glued together. “The saddest day of a girl’s life is the day of her wedding,” her mother says. “After that, God willing, it gets better.” Soon she hears … Read more
We just needed a place to get away from it all. That was the reason why I decided to book a night’s stay at the converted barn house in the Kent Downs, a part of England designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a part of the country that plenty of other people … Read more
Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. ‘Police, fire or ambulance?’ ‘Hi, yes, I don’t know. I’m not sure really. I don’t know who I need. There’s no fire, I mean. Obviously there’s no fire because of the rain.’ ‘Can you tell me why you’ve called emergency services today, sir? ‘There was an accident, I mean… a pedestrian was hit. … Read more
“You’re home!” My friend, Abby, throws her arms around her brother, Knight, who’s prowled into the room. His hair is overgrown, and his beard is threaded with a few gray hairs. Huh? Knight definitely didn’t have gray hair the last time I saw him. But then again, he hadn’t been captured by the enemy and … Read more
The left winger skates toward the net and slapshots the puck at me. There’s a thwap of the puck in my glove, and my blood flares with competition and satisfaction. “Streicher shut out,” my new teammate calls as he breezes past, and I toss the puck onto the ice with a quick nod. The fans … Read more
The Most Heinous Vase Ever Created Maven “It smells like rich assholes in here.” I wrinkled my nose to hammer that point home, and my best friend let out a soft laugh before sipping from the glass of champagne she held daintily between her fingertips. The diamonds on her warm brown wrist glittered under the … Read more
Our Field Geology trip getting canceled because the bus “broke down” isn’t so bad. Instead of wasting away a perfectly good weekend in the middle of summer trying to learn about rocks (which I adore by the way because geology is my passion, but I don’t love it more than a cloud-free weekend), I get … Read more
The purr of Sean’s motor sounds as I tighten the last bolt. The heavy repeat of his engine and crunch of gravel help detract from the noise that’s been echoing in my head for the last twelve fucking hours. It shouldn’t surprise me anymore—laying witness to acts of disgusting, power-drunk men in a position of … Read more