When I swung forward, I leaned back so far that the trees were upside down. I enjoyed the giddy feeling in my stomach, but eventually the rope burned my hands and I got off the swing and swayed, slightly dizzy, on the ground. The rope was tied to a tree limb at the top andContinue reading “Freeport Drive”
Category Archives: Mostly True
With Fanfare, and Without
We entered the sandy arena three abreast and stopped in the center. We raised our trumpets, flags adorning the extra-long bells, and began to play. I have always gotten a thrill from the bright sound of tightly harmonized trumpets, especially when I have helped produce it. Halfway through, the two trumpeters on the outside turnedContinue reading “With Fanfare, and Without”
Night Walks
I used to walk with the dog, but her broken foot won’t permit that any more. It feels selfish to be glad about that — no more stopping to sniff every ten feet, to circle and ruminate on the rotation of bowels until I finally lose patience and give the leash a tug. I justContinue reading “Night Walks”
Good Kid
I was a good kid. Never made any trouble. Mostly I sat with my forehead against the school bus window feeling the rumble of the engine transfer to my brain box. My friend Mike was more of a troublemaker. He got into an argument one morning and punched another kid on the arm. It wasContinue reading “Good Kid”
Oweanka
“Not yooouuu!” My daughter Kathryn sat on the toilet, her face red with frustration. She had been yelling “Mama” at the top of her lungs, but Mama hadn’t come. Papa had come instead, and this wasn’t acceptable to her 3-year-old mind. She tottered on the edge of the toilet, her pink cotton dress pulled up,Continue reading “Oweanka”
I Suggest
I suggest the image of a man and a woman. The woman has just finished showing the man pictures of dogs, a boyfriend, an old house; and she has put the pictures away and leaned back on the bed to look at the ceiling. The man is sitting on the bed, turned towards her, supportingContinue reading “I Suggest”
The Summit
We stopped on a face of sheer rock overlooking the valley. The late fall foliage scorched the base of Mount Monadnock, and a mist filled the gaps. A storm was coming, and the wind was beginning to show its teeth. It would be bitter cold at the top. We sat down to eat our lunchContinue reading “The Summit”
Cheaters
“Let me tell you a story.” The girl stared at the ceiling, and as her father sat on the edge of the bed she scooted back to keep her distance. She sighed meaningfully while her father began talking. “When I was in high school they had a big Trivial Pursuit contest out on the quad.”Continue reading “Cheaters”
A little space
A little space here which I have walked into where love resides but lies hidden, gathers dust. A quiet space where love resides but relaxes and changes its clothes. I can’t make it out. The light is uncomfortably dim, but comfortable almost in the non-knowledge that love resides, that it rests in a chair, whichContinue reading “A little space”
At the Party
Who is it tonight? The quiet one, all darting eyes and monosyllables? The bore, spouting barely understood scientific theories? The smiler and nodder? The nerd? Maybe, just maybe, the interesting one? Which version of myself showed up? Oh, right, the distracted one.
David Hammond 