Author Archives: Al

Roundup to Harlowton – i

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Al

“Maybe they have rain pants here,” Satish said. He’d already struck out at the Roundup Hardware and Ranch store. Despite the forecast of two inches of rain, 25 to 40 mile per hour headwinds, and wind chills in the upper … Continue reading →

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Who Will Run The Frog Hospital?

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Al

Lorrie Moore, a short story specialist, packs a lot into her 148-page novella, Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? Sils and Berie, 15-year-olds in the upstate New York town of Horsehearts, start the summer of 1972 working in the local amusement … Continue reading →

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Urinary Urgency After Prostatectomy

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Al

On the Mayo Clinic Prostate Cancer Chat, someone wrote:  “My prostatectomy was 3 months ago. My incontinence has been complicated by an unrelenting urgency to pee. Oddly, it’s most acute right after emptying my bladder. Throughout the day I can’t … Continue reading →

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Never Stop

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Al

The fully loaded touring bike leaned against the windows of an Arby’s appended to the Pilot truck stop in Mountain Home, Idaho. Forty miles east of Boise, it offered the perfect dinner stop as I ended the penultimate day of … Continue reading →

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The Heart in Winter, by Kevin Barry

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Al

Tom Rourke and Polly Gillespie meet in a photography studio in Butte, Mt during its early mining boom at the end of the 19th century, a raucous town filled with bars and other distractions. Tom’s are drink, dope, and writing … Continue reading →

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Are Doctors Too Poor?

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Al

The Bloomberg charity has given a billion dollars to Johns Hopkins to make medical school free for its students. This gift is misguided. Has no one noticed we don’t have enough doctors in this country??? What we need is not … Continue reading →

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Harry & Ida – Chapter 1.ii

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Al

[First draft!] The next morning after breakfast,  Grace took Ida and Gretchen upstairs. After making sure their faces and hands were washed, she told them to put on their church dresses and come out into the hall. “Girls, Weeda wants to … Continue reading →

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Say It Ain’t So, Joe!

Posted on July 4, 2024 by Al

George Stephanopolous is interviewing the President on Friday. Here’s what I want to see on ABC tomorrow: George S.: Mr. President, what do you say to the millions of loyal Democrats who are asking you – begging you – to … Continue reading →

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Harry & Ida, Chapter 1.i

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Al

[FIRST DRAFT – corrections and further edits probable] Ida swung gently in the double swing suspended at the bend of the porch. The sweet scent of lavender soap her mother Grace had washed with that morning drifted with in from … Continue reading →

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Eclipsed [Long Version]

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Al

Merry glanced up at the TV, which had been on continuously since nine AM. “We’ve got time,” Merry said. “They said the Eclipse starts at 3:04” “Uh, no. The moon begins to cross the sun at 1:49.” I worried our hosts didn’t grasp the nature … Continue reading →

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