Month: September 2009

The first short story I ever got all the way through and kind of liked was “When It Rains“. I had written a few others before then, and even entered one of them in the Hopwood Awards annual contest at the University of Michigan, but I didn’t win. At the time, I was very hopeful: … Read more

When I was but a boy, the West Side Market in Cleveland was a place of great mystery. My mother spoke of it in hushed awe as if it were sacred, or at least nearly sacred. The vendors there carried the run of the mill produce and meats of any market, but also some of … Read more

I have never had good luck playing practical jokes. They generally backfire, and I feel awful. I feel awful right now. When I was four years old, my mother took me along shopping. I thought it was great sport to hide from her while she shopped. I would duck in and out of the clothes … Read more