• FINAL TEST

    If he were graded solelyon effort, he would havereceived a B+ but life doesn’tallow such a narrow view. He had no father, no modelso he stumbled through lookingat others, unsure which were rightwhich were botching the job. He bought an ancient firstbaseman’s glove from Goodwillthe only left-handed glove they hadand I taught him to use…


  • ALL BAD REASONS

    She says I should watch the game,the team I have followed sincewell since before I can rememberwhen. I am puzzled by which of myexcuses I should use to explainwhy I will not watch this game orany. I could tell her that I am a jinx andmy watching will cause them to losealthough I do frequently…


  • ADAM SMITH BE DAMNED

    It is odd to discoverthat time obeys the economiclaws of supply and demandbut as I have aged, thathas become ever more clearas my supply has dwindled,my demand remains constantand the value increases accordingly. That may explain why, now,I am content to check the scoresand read the stats of my favoritefootball or baseball team, getting every…


  • BACK IN THE DAY

    My uncle and I would sneak away from the seemingly endless party, no one wanted to attend and couldn’t leave. We go up to my room and turn on the radio. He’d want to look for the Senators game, but they’d left town and no radio could pull in Minneapolis anyway, but despite Killebrew, Arbitron…


  • ASHES

    When I die, my friend Larry said one morning in the third inning of a double header of stoop ball, I want to be burned, not that I intend it to happen any time soon, but when it does. They burned my grandfather I think it was Dachau, but unlike him, I want to kick…