Lawless Letters

Without its diamonds, it was a beet-hued hunk of junk, an Americana tchotchke. Stolen, never recovered, the news had said. Dialing, she held the Liberty Bell Ruby to the sunlight. “Larry,” she said, “you’re not gonna believe what I just got at a yard sale for seven bucks.” Writing Prompt:  Include the words ruby and seven  

Paper is obsolete now, right? We have e-books. We have Docusign. We have online newspapers, magazines, annual reports, birthday cards, and, of course, e-mail. OK, it's not obsolete yet. But even Luddites like me have embraced the digital age. My one holdout: I can’t quit paper books. And getting mail is still fun, even though nobody except my mom mails me anything anymore. The older I get, the less paper I want cluttering up my life. File folders are bulky; storing them is annoying. Bills pile up on surfaces and are easier to pay online. Even our beloved books are a burden to cart around; we did a book purge during our last move and it felt oddly freeing. Then there's the environmental impact. Hanging out at home during the pandemic has made it clearer to me than ever how many dead trees dwell in my house. So, yesterday, after receiving my umpteenth piece of snail mail from Computershare, I took myself to their website to switch to online statements. Some compan...

“And I’ve never been the same,” I concluded, sighing. Next to me, in the window seat, the dog looked at me with big, brown, soulful eyes. “Rough,” she said. Only she had acknowledged my pain, hadn’t tried to explain it away. I smiled at my new best friend. Prompt: Tell us a story that includes an animal where there shouldn’t be one

Something moved in the shadows. It loosened itself from the mud where it had lain buried for sixty years. Rising, it swirled, taking form. From its center, a fiddle’s tune sprang forth, leaping and dancing like a candle flame. In the rocking chair, the old woman smiled, tapped her foot, and hummed along.

We’re in our fifth week of the state-mandated COVID-19 lockdown. I’ve just spent my 39th consecutive day in the company of nobody except my husband, kids, dog, cat, and the platoon of ants that plundered our kitchen. Shit’s still as weird as it was a month ago , but, to my surprise, it’s not all bad. It took me a few weeks (and bottles of wine) to get here. When this all started, many of us went through a “WTF period” as we flailed around, adjusting to the new normal. Take it from me: supervising e-learning for two children while simultaneously working a full-time corporate job is not for the weak. Suddenly I was wearing multiple hats, all day, every day: teacher’s aide, tech support, cook, hall monitor, recess monitor, stage manager, janitor, and counselor, plus my day job. When you wear nine hats at the same time, a couple of them are bound to fall off at least once a day. To cope, and because my brain requires lists, I started jotting down things I missed. After a while, I sta...

Billy shoved the spade downward, scooping dirt. Clang. With his fingers, he dug trenches around the metal box, wiggled it free. Behind the oak, Grandpa had said. These hands can’t dig anymore. Finders, keepers. The lid creaked open. Atop the pile, Joe DiMaggio’s face smiled back at Billy. Prompt: earth

Image credit: Washington Post The humans have been barking more than usual. They watch that big flat box that they like, the one that shows pictures of other humans barking, and they bark back. Coronavirus , they keep saying. I do not know that word. But I know it must be something really great! For one thing, my entire pack is home. All of them, together, all the time! The man and the woman stopped telling me to guard the house (as if I needed a reminder! What will they remind me to do next, breathe?) as they left for "work." And the small humans have not stepped into that giant orange Twinkie with wheels since last week. Someone must have eaten that Twinkie. Lucky. Not only are they all home, they take me for walks three or four times a day now! Today, the man put on my leash and mumbled something about getting out of the house before he committed hairy Carrie. I don't know who Carrie is, or why she needs to be committed, but I sure hope she gets better soon....