As a kid I would lie down on my stomach on the dock and look out over the water. If I caught the right angle, the dock appeared to move forward through the waves. If the sun was setting at the same time the water, the water changed color from orange to pink to gray …
Running People Over (or This Time I’m the Bad Guy)
I didn't see the girl until she hit my windshield. Then I saw nothing but the girl. In the split second that lasted a lifetime, I saw that she wasn't dead. Panic speared through my chest. I got out of my car. I didn't feel the rain. "Are you okay? Oh my god." Traffic moved …
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Tease Me, Please.
We fall into patterns. Habits. Roles. You're the Helper, the Joker, the Troublemaker, the Listener, the Idiot, the Object of Desire--what more can you think of? Which role is yours? Take a wild guess at my role back in college. Now, I'd like to break out of the Insecure Writer role I've cast myself into, …
Ice Cream and Other Tricks of the Mind
"You have to go to the principal's office," the teacher said. "Take your things. You've a doctor's appointment." "Oh," I said. "I do?" My arm was in a sling and a classmate picked up my books and put them in my bag. I couldn't remember anything about a doctor's appointment. The teacher frowned. "Of course …
All the Best Flaws Are Going Fast!
This video made me feel better. So, what flaws would you like to trade? Let's see... I've got talks too much, obsesses, staph scars, varicose veins, insecurity, bad hair, half of my rib cage is concave instead convex, and a weakness for flattery. Any traders? Anyone? Anyone?
Stomach Turner
"You remind me of Lana Turner's sister," my dad would say to me. "Stomach Turner." "I put your school picture up to keep the roaches away," he said every year. And "If you're lucky, one day you'll be as good-looking as me." Not everyone finds the same joke funny. My friends thought my dad was …
Ask the Right Questions and Get No Answers
"Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" I asked my dad. "What?" he asked. "Everyone always seems to know where they were when Kennedy was shot, so I just thought I'd ask." He shrugged. "I had to work." "What do you mean you had to work?" I asked. "I had to make lunch for 500 …
this because making art is exhausting
and this is on my mind... ...thanks, Louise.
Shaved Heads and Spit
I noticed that the young men all have shaved heads, but I didn't think they had anything to do with me. I was at a red light and they were packed in the car behind me. I checked the rearview mirror to see how my son was doing. He was happy in his carseat, close …
Stories of Dead Girls & Other People You Don’t Want to Be
I called it The Tour of Death. "Six people died in this intersection," she said. "A semi ran the stop sign and killed a car filled with kids." "You remember when we drove by here and there was all that yellow police tape?" she asked a while later. "Man shot his son in the driveway." …
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Marta Bacon 