Books as old friends

I read you again, silent words and fading pagesturn them, weighing the paperthe memory of our first touchI close my … More

Elephant Santa

My neighbor has an elephant dressed like Santa up on his roof. Every night when it gets dark, he plugs it … More

He’s only a speck when he comes to town, before he grows larger, becomes recognized at the edge as a … More

A one, and a two: When I was living Chapter 21, it was a very good year . . . … More

I know this may be hard to believe, but there was a time once, many moons ago, when English majors … More

It was time, my parents decided, for me to learn how not to drown. We live in Hawai‘i, so we’re surrounded … More

Two things I do know for sure about my first year on this planet. One, I was an aggressive breast feeder. This … More

Chan asked what was up. “It’s a body. They found it out back,” said officer Williams. Chan’s pulse quickened as the … More

Stuck here at home, unable to see my family anymore,lying in bed at night I think, with short, shallow breaths … More

Chan said simply that there were unanswered questions, but on the way to the station, he could see everything that … More

Benevolent Time sat cross-legged on the mantle smiling,saying she’d push it over, her index finger often fakingflicking it, when, to … More

Back at his desk, Chan took a look at the files of some other open cases. The one that concerned him … More

I hear that gentle knock at the door, my teacher Time, again.She comes around, and we sit together on my … More

“But why steal from old people the cars you use for the other old people to hit?” “Well, boss, maybe … More

I think about how I heard you rant at death for so long,then near the end ask for it to … More

Sitting in his car sweating, Chan pondered the game. Was his head truly back in the game? And what was that game … More

My father was drafted into active service in the U.S. Army on February 24, 1941. Exactly one year later, on … More

The Elite crew had gone to a plate-lunch truck several blocks away. The boss, Chris Smart, had forgone lunch to catch … More

I can hardly say I lived by a frozen lake, on cigarettes and beer,my diet at night, when I’d hear … More

As he stood there marveling at the trappings of incredible wealth, David Chan thought only about his father, how the … More