Author Archives: Al

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! The rain ended about the same time Mike finished eating. We sat on the front porch, staring at the leaves and branches flung down by the storm. One arm around his shoulder, my other resting on his leg, … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! I took the train home at the end of July. I needed time to myself, no crowds, no rush. On the way, I stopped in Rhode Island to see Eddie, Arlene, and Denise, hoping for a shot of … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! I’d been back in Cambridge a week when Bev and I finally had a chance to sit down and eat dinner together. She experimented with an eggplant-and-broccoli concoction, laden with lentils and rice and her usual eclectic mix … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! Saturday evening, my studies finally done, we walked for several hours along the river. A single sculler, done with his evening row, hoisted his shell into the boathouse. Looking up, he waved at us. Walking silently hand in … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! Mike showed up Friday afternoon, carrying Dylan’s new album, Nashville Skyline. On my little suitcase record player, the understated instruments and Dylan’s softened voice were right at home. “This came out on my birthday. When you told me … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! Next morning, I found one of those bulging envelopes from Mike, meaning it held a poem or poems. I ripped it open, reading it right there in one of dorm lounge comfy chairs. This one was five pages … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! Bev and Leslie planned another soireé two weeks after the strike. Jeanne wanted to bring Larry, the guy from her high school who’d loaned us his couch the night before the Uni Hall occupation, and his roommate Sam, … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! “Hello?” As soon as I heard Mike’s voice on the other end, I broke down. “They came marching up the steps…pounding on the door…it was awful…dragging them out…handcuffed, by the hair, down the steps. I saw…I saw the … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! Wednesday was Mike’s birthday. I had planned on calling him that evening, in anticipation of a weekend together in Cambridge. Coming out of psych lab, I daydreamed about what I’d say, what kind of card I’d make him. … Continue reading →

!!!!!*****WORKING DRAFT*****!!!!! Spring break that year, I stayed at Bev and Leslie’s place, thankful for the solitude. So much riled my brain that week. Women’s literature, with Dr. Shulmeister, opened a new arena of intrigue, providing a sense of mystery … Continue reading →