Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: Nicaragua
I Saw This Boy
There were children sleeping in trees. I saw them myself, riding around Managua after dark with my comadre Christina and our dear sponsor, Miriam, in February 1994. During the day, the kids rushed cars stopped in traffic, crawling up on hoods to squeegee the windshield, hawking gum and cigarettes… Continue Reading “I Saw This Boy”
In Good Time
This is a story about going back. Adopted kids going back to their country of origin is a rite of passage – or maybe a right of passage. Our three adopted kids are all from Nicaragua. The oldest, Nelson, lived in an orphanage in San Marcos;… Continue Reading “In Good Time”
Home Field
This is the story of a magical day – a sterling day, so perfect that it could only have been a crafted, scripted waking dream. The gods created it, I’m sure, as a gift for our strained family and the troubled times we had… Continue Reading “Home Field”
Bear Watch
It’s funny how things work out. How we end up doing things we didn’t think we’d still be doing after already raising four kids. Every Friday, right around this time, we go on Bear Watch. Friday night to Monday morning – every week. Car seat,… Continue Reading “Bear Watch”
With Her Bare Hands
It was this time of year, on Indian Lake in the U.P., that I realized that my new 7-year old daughter could catch fish with her bare hands. I’d walked down to the dock from the funky little cabin where we were staying to check… Continue Reading “With Her Bare Hands”
Astonishing
I think this picture should be an ad for adoption. You know how most adoption family pictures are so posed? And everyone looks happy – but they kind of need to look happy because the meter’s running on some photographer’s time. Well, this picture… Continue Reading “Astonishing”
Boy in the Orange Sweater
I’ve never forgotten the boy in the orange sweater. I don’t know his name. I never talked to him. He was maybe 7 or 8. He was small and, I think, maybe blind in one eye. And he was so lonely. His loneliness was his… Continue Reading “Boy in the Orange Sweater”
Orphan Shoe
We did almost everything wrong, right from the start. My husband landed in Managua in the middle of a huge international dispute — appearing in Nicaragua to bring home our new son, Nelson Ernesto Bravo, the same day in 1986 as Gene Hasenfuss, a CIA operative… Continue Reading “Orphan Shoe”
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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