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Piggy SueWhen they moved to Newberg from Portland she knew it would be different. Just how different she had no idea. And it was not the different she had envisioned. They were closer to the wine industry and had the house of their dreams. But there were neighbors to contend with. Mornings in MoscowThey lived in a foreigners’ complex with a guard on every corner. The 13-floor cement buildings encircled a dusty playground of swings, one of those roundabout thingamabobs, and a slide. The sun glinting off that slide’s silver, knotted surface shines through her memory. An Oak Tree Overlooking Mohawk RiverPerhaps it was the distraction of her mind that day that prevented the sudden surprise of stumbling upon the sight of a man, all bundled in flannel with a chord around his neck, hanging from an oak tree overlooking Mohawk River. Sheer panic swept her. Empty TattooHis 7th grade civics teacher, Mr. Thorson, was a gangly man with lank greasy hair. He had only one suit, brown, accessorized with ugly ties of various umber hues. His thick black glasses were so heavy they’d slide down his thin nose to perch precariously on its tip. Mrs. Psycho Loses Her Place in English ClassBetty was menopausal, that murky new emotional territory that can turn a teacher weird, if she weren’t a bit of a character already. Betty was a squat fireplug of a woman. A smoker, a drinker, a serious card player who lived in a room in town during the week. Fooling DoloresShe is a fraud, an imposter, and worse she may have committed a felony. She have broken some law, of that much she is certain. Any minute now the teacher will call her name and summon her to the front of the class, exposing her to everyone. The Economics of PoetryShe doesn’t know why but she agreed to do it. That night she sat out to write a poem based on someone else’s feelings that weren’t her own. To her surprise the words started flowing. In a short time she had created an apology poem. She wasn’t sure Jeff would like it, though. Uncle Leo, Dirty Jokes, and the FBIUncle Leo got his job as a hotshot for some union after the previous hotshot got himself machine gunned off his front porch. This is the truth. Uncle Leo had a body guard named Freddie Rizzo. Freddie’s body was eventually found in the trunk of a car. Also the truth. Forgiveness in HiroshimaEverything was decimated, except a concrete building directly below the bomb, The Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall. For some reason this building, with its twisted steel dome, remained untouched. He knew it from countless photos. They were standing at ground zero. My IsabelleAt Christmas they met Isabelle at the bus station. When she stepped off the bus half of her was gone. Literally, she had lost half her body weight. She was swallowed up by an oversized coat; her hair hung limp and dull around her face; her eyes were empty, her cheeks hollow.   |
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