Rabbit Hole
In the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Rabbit Hole, my son Frank was the recorded voice of Danny, a four-year-old boy killed by a car when he...
Chief Oshkosh's Lonely Hearts Club Gang
Women flock to see their lovebirds at the Winnebago County Jail. Inside the visiting booths, they perch as if nesting against the...
A is for Alliteration
To be honest, I’m a real townie. Sure, for ten years I lived in a string of worthy places like Madison, Milwaukee, Boulder, Ann Arbor,...
Character Evidence
Character sketches, cut from The Motherhood Affidavits, but not from memory: Gary A paranoid schizophrenic man named Gary was the mascot...
Gail the Friendly Ghost
"Tell them that the house is not for sale We’re still living here How come nobody can tell?" -- “This House is Not For Sale” by Ryan...
Dropping the Gloves
Frank K. Baker is my son’s namesake. He is also my grandfather and the sports reporter whose droll smile is a throw-back I chase with my...
Gimme Fiction
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chief Bromden says to readers: “But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen.” And so argues Gustav...
What Heathen Child is This?
One Christmas (or Easter), my mom taught me the word C-R-E-A-S-T-E-R. This blend of words, also called a “portmanteau,” delighted my...
For Ryan, on his Birthday
My husband turns 40 today. To celebrate, Gustav contracted a stomach virus and vomited on Ryan’s shoulder. Ryan slept for only six hours...
Presents Roasting on an Open Fire
Christmas shopping for Ryan, and for me, is like a bonfire of the vanities. We enter marketplaces, boutiques, Target, or the dark side of...
