Literature

More Than an Uncle By Jack McDonough I think about Tom Duffy often. Even now. Even years after he died. He was born in Dover, N.H., in 1902 and I’m guessing he must have died sometime around 1980. I remember attending his funeral in what was then St. Joseph’s church…

Thumbs Up for a Ride Full of Possibility By David Daniel My Bostonian mom would have quavered with horror if she’d known of her son’s hitchhiking days — I never stuck out my thumb on a country lane or interstate highway without a tingle in my bones. Would this be…

Living Madly: The Way We Were By Emilie-Noelle Provost One evening recently, my husband, Rob, and I were sitting in our living room listening to a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert on the radio. When it was over the announcer returned and made a comment about how nice it was that…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 44 By Louise Peloquin Ch. 44 “Squiggles, snowmen and angels” The end of library duty threw Blanche back into the SFA routine. Visibly, she was not pleased. Andy gave her the once-over during the next day’s powwow in the pine grove. “I have no idea what…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 43 By Louise Peloquin Ch. 43 “Why don’t they go and create something” Blanche was used to taking on responsibility. Whenever tension threatened the home front, Maman trumpeted “tu dois montrer l’exemple à tes frères et à ta soeur” (you must show the example to your…

Chippy the First By Charles Gargiulo Where did Chippy go? The little boy couldn’t understand. When he turned 4 years old last December, the best present he ever got was his pretty parakeet. He kept making noises like “chip, chip, chip,” so he named him Chippy. He didn’t have any…

Living Madly: Chinese Checkers By Emilie-Noelle Provost I’m not a fan of board games. I’ve always hated them, even when I was a kid. When I was about seven years old, my sister Nathalie and I received a Parcheesi game for Christmas. If you’re not familiar with it, Parcheesi is…

Man at Bar with Notebook By David Daniel She watched him walk in. Medium height, ruddy skin. Suit coat, tie loose. She angled herself slightly on the barstool. She knew before he did. He saw her. Tawny hair, like the pale wine in her glass. Nice curve of lower leg…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 42 By Louse Peloquin Ch. 42 “If you really want to hear about it” After a fitful night haunted by visions of rectangular-shaped birds flapping their ivory wings and swooping into the hands of ponytailed teenagers in navy blue uniforms, squinty-eyed Blanche stoically executed her morning…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 41 By Louise Peloquin “Anywhere out of the world” Blanche’s head was in the moon during classes. Lively dining hall conversations failed to pierce through the stupor. Friends gave up commenting on her lethargy as they watched her swallow the “plat du jour” of alphabet soup…