I entered a 53-word story contest and convinced myself I would win. I did not win. This is not the first time I have deluded myself. I once applied to Stanford Business School and was shocked when I didn’t get in. At first, I assumed it was a mistake, that my name must have ended […]
Can Someone Change That Much?
A former white nationalist is sitting at the table next to me, reaching for a miniature fruit tart. I want to tell him he is a goddamn motherfucker and doesn’t get to eat a miniature fruit tart. But I am at an anti-racism event and this man is no longer part of the white nationalist […]
To The Man At The Café Talking On His Phone
Even before you said, “I can’t move their cheese too fast,” I suspected you might be someone who lacks self-awareness. You are on the phone at a café and your voice is too loud. I am trying to read the news. A sixteen-year-old girl with Asperger’s is angry about adults’ disregard for the environment. She […]
If I Had Wings
“The girl was brought to school with very little paperwork, by her great-grandmother, who was showing signs of dementia.” We leaned in, clutching our jars of water, wanting to know more. We were at Book Club, but as usual, the conversation had veered in another direction, because we stalk stories like hunters. “She was non-verbal […]
Big Dog
My eleven-year-old and I were trying to decide between two foster dogs. One was a calm, half-blind, small Boston terrier, and the other was an eighty-five pound longhaired mutt who lived for years as a stray in a forest outside of Istanbul. “Let’s foster the terrier,” my daughter said. “She’s so sweet. Look how cuddly […]