Scene One – YOU’LL FIND HER – Summerset Nursing Home, Madison, Wisconsin, June 2008
“Dad, where’s your mother buried?” I ask. “Mother or step-mother?” He lifts his head from the pillow. His face is the color of the pale white bedsheet like a shroud draped over his thin body. “Why do you ask, Bobbie?”
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Scene One – THE FINEST SILVER – Dubai, United Arab Emirates, City Centre, September 1980
A delicious odor of roast goat overwhelms the fragrance of cardamom infused in my Arabic coffee. “Ah, Friday morning in the souk offers unusual pleasures.” Moussa leans across the table and flicks an ash from his Turkish cigarette. “I observed a herd of fine beasts on my way to meet you. Today is their turn.” Scene One – PLAYING IN SHALLOWS – Sarasota, Florida, February 1949
“Time for deeper water Bobby,” Dad says. He lifts me from cool water above turquoise-blue tiles in Holiday Inn’s outdoor pool. Strong arms spin me over his head like a baker twirls pizza dough. Above me palms and clouds swirl in a canopy of mint leaves and marshmallows in an upside-down bowl of blue Jell-O. “Ha, ha, Daddy,” I laugh. “Pizza, pizza, but no deep water.” Scene One – WINGS – University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 1965
“Hello freshmen. Welcome to Biology 101. I’m professor Livingston. Ha – you wonder, where is the famous explorer and journalist, Henry Stanley?” He walks to the lectern and peers over the top of his bifocals. “Unfortunately, Mr. Stanley and my esteemed namesake, Dr. Livingston, missionary, explorer and no relation of mine, died many years before you were born.” Scene 1 – THE GIFT – Amour Architects – Dubai, UAE, October 1980
The box is mahogany or another rare, tropical wood, highly polished with gilded corners and latches. The length of a yardstick and the width of a 12-inch ruler, like my first grade teacher used to rap my knuckles, the majesty of the box captures my attention as I enter Amour’s conference room. |
About the AuthorI write personal essays, creative non-fiction, flash fiction, and self-development articles from my home in Madison, Wisconsin.
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