Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysBetweenBy Dee Thompson There were no baby monitors a half century ago when I appeared, Motherreminded me.I had not considered it, but it’s true of course.Mothers simply listened. Knew the cries,the fretful wail, the full-throated scream, the whimper.Birth was more clinical. Babies were not so rare and precious, just boom-dropped, oneamong […]

Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysHigh School ReunionBy Dean OlsonGraduates gather in summer heat  to share stories, look each other over, gauge tread left, weigh wear and tear You mean to say…Have you seen…  Didn’t you hear…Do you remember…we carry with us images from the mirror smile all-the-while thinkingMy God, do I look like that?!potluck tables flow from […]

Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysPresentsBy Len KuntzSlithering inside a Folgers coffee can withslits cut into the Saran Wrap cover,a copper-tailed snake was the gift you gave.in later years there were others–driftwood embossed with a baby Jesus shape,pints of just-picked blackberries,a bouquet of daisies you’d found in the slumped hillsbehind our mobile home.It was me who […]