Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Writing
Tonight at the Showcase
I belong to a writing community called Red Oak. We don’t live in a commune or take a pledge or anything like that. Mostly what we do is show up to read our writing and listen to other people. In order to have that… Continue Reading “Tonight at the Showcase”
Sugarcane Flower
At 5 o’clock, I make what many would consider a very strong rum and Coke and I sit down at my desk to decide what to write about. Once, in a writing group, the topic was “how do you get ready to write?” There… Continue Reading “Sugarcane Flower”
The End of Mean Charlie
It took months before I could believe it. The man across the street had died. I should have figured it out the first morning Charlie didn’t come walking down his driveway at the stroke of ten, wearing a trench coat and pulling a little suitcase on wheels. Thinking… Continue Reading “The End of Mean Charlie”
How to Transport a Thanksgiving Turkey
Start by buying a bigger bird than you think you need. It will be frozen solid so don’t wait until the last minute like last year. On Thanksgiving Day, get up at 4:00 a.m. In a dark house with a single kitchen light burning, make… Continue Reading “How to Transport a Thanksgiving Turkey”
On Thanksgiving and My Brother
A year ago I was in Texas visiting my older brother whose lung problems had squeezed the muscle right out of him so he was skin stretched tight over bone. He was very weak. A lot of the time, his hands were just folded… Continue Reading “On Thanksgiving and My Brother”
The Chase
Age runs me down fierce Relentless lion breathing I hide, swallow air __________ Photo by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash
Find a New Pencil and Get Moving
I fell off the writing beam hard. Suddenly, in what was undoubtedly an over-reaction to a monstrous building being constructed next door, I broke my pencil in half and retreated to the corner. My very ambitious plan to write a book of short stories… Continue Reading “Find a New Pencil and Get Moving”
My Day with Bob Evans
This incredibly flattering and beautifully composed photograph was taken this morning after breakfast at our beloved Bob Evans restaurant, this one just north of Lansing in DeWitt. We were driving south on US127 from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant where, the night before,… Continue Reading “My Day with Bob Evans”
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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