Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Writing
Prison Town: Part Two
“There’s a real old cemetery out on 16, take it to Henning Road and go east, maybe four miles. There’s a park there but next to the park is an old cemetery. It’s a dirt road, though, so be careful.” Robert, Sr. appreciated… Continue Reading “Prison Town: Part Two”
Prison Town: Part One
It felt like visiting the other side of the moon, but he’d gotten used to it. His son, Robert Jr. , had been an inmate at the medium security prison in Newberry going on three years. Newberry and Detroit were in the same state… Continue Reading “Prison Town: Part One”
The Searing Comfort of Layla
I spent the summer of 1973 sitting on a blanket atop the scorched brown grass behind our Flint townhouse, yards of black cord connected my bagel-size headphones to our stereo inside. I watched my eight-month old baby girl sit and crawl and eat the… Continue Reading “The Searing Comfort of Layla”
Two Vignettes for Your Reading Pleasure
We followed a beat-up white panel truck with no license plates down the street that winds through the forest of apartment buildings along the Milwaukee River. When the street expanded to two lanes, we pulled up next to the truck and right away heard… Continue Reading “Two Vignettes for Your Reading Pleasure”
People You Can’t Forget: Mr. Dillard
Mr. Dillard always wore a dress shirt buttoned up to the neck but no tie along with pleated dress pants, I remember khakis but maybe they were just plain black pants, and nice shoes. He was always handsomely put together with a cardigan or… Continue Reading “People You Can’t Forget: Mr. Dillard”
People You Can’t Forget: Jane
I don’t know why but all day I’ve been thinking about Jane. Two memories collide — the pungent, overpowering body odor wafting down the hallway that announced her arrival minutes before she appeared in my office and the matter of fact way she cinched… Continue Reading “People You Can’t Forget: Jane”
The Sun Changes Everything
It has been nearly six full months of winter. The cozy and snug part of winter has diminished as hunkering down fatigue grows. Continually grey skies and leafless trees suck the life out of the most cheerful folks. I would be one of those… Continue Reading “The Sun Changes Everything”
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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