Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Marriage, Family, Dogs, and Cat
Squeaker
The mouse was in the garbage disposal. That’s right. There was a live mouse in our garbage disposal. I called my husband and then walked out the front door. “I’m leaving. Do you want a pair of gloves? You can’t turn it on. Oh… Continue Reading “Squeaker”
Grab Them and Run Up the Hill
We sat in beach chairs facing the Pacific Ocean. Our teenage kids jittered around us, the change in their pockets rattling, their eyes darting up to the hill that held San Juan del Sur’s business district and the town’s only internet cafe. They weren’t… Continue Reading “Grab Them and Run Up the Hill”
Don’t Play on the Catapult
One thing I can tell you from my brief experience writing about catapults is that there are no decent pictures of catapults that truly depict the risk involved in messing around with one. The phrase “don’t play on the catapult” has been playing in… Continue Reading “Don’t Play on the Catapult”
Dangerous
Anything can happen. I remember my daughter telling me this. It was after the apartment next to hers in Palm Springs blew up in the middle of the night. She’d been in her new place just a few days, unwittingly moving next door to… Continue Reading “Dangerous”
Elegy Updated
Stand with 10,000 ghosts Hear their last words Hurrying to the river Running into the trees Shedding this life for new Drop your envy and yearning on the ground Nestle your love in the rocks’ mortar Be part of the wall that stays behind… Continue Reading “Elegy Updated”
Boys in the Backseat
It’s been years since they sat in the backseat. The last time we took a road trip, just the four of us, they were four and six. I don’t remember how old we were. I remember them in the backseat listening to folk songs… Continue Reading “Boys in the Backseat”
Place of Adoption
The woman wore an apron and carried a tray that hung from straps over her shoulders. Her cookies were arranged in rows. She sold them one by one. She came to our table and reached out, a cookie in her hand. “Galleta?” she… Continue Reading “Place of Adoption”
Two a Day #19: Home Field
Some people remember everything about their lives. And even more about their children. I’m not that way. Much of my life is a blur. That’s not an age thing, I’ve always been that way. If ever someone lived in the moment, it’s me. But… Continue Reading “Two a Day #19: Home Field”
Witness to War
My parents never came. If they had come, things would have been different. My mother would take up her spot next to the kitchen sink. She would stand with her arms folded and a dish towel over her shoulder, the smoke from her cigarette… Continue Reading “Witness to War”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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