“Robert P. Warner II had been the kind of boy in high school who managed his injuries as a mother hen hovers over her chicks. He was a master of communicating physical distress to others, but the nature of the injury and the nature of the distress he would subsequently manifest were not really in accord with the laws of logic first outlined in such a cogent way by Aristotle. One time, when he had been beaned in the forehead by a volleyball in Mr. Walker’s phys ed class, the injury, such as it was, resulted in a mild ringing in the ears. But this had translated, by the end of the period, into a clear limp; by the end of the day, into a striking limp; and by the next Monday morning, into a pair of crutches and a leg brace on the outside of his jeans.”
Write Your Own Story Using These Ten Vocabulary Words
Ain’t What She Used to Be
“The sofa was of the old gray mare swayback school of design, and from somewhere within the cushions, de profundis, cam a groan from Robert P.”
A Different Angle
“Even creeps have hopes, dreams, aspirations. Even creeps have a story and perhaps a brief moment in their toddler years when they were cute.”
Unforgiven Sin as the Key to Understanding Modern Politics
Introduction: Our central political problem today is that nobody has any idea of how to drain the vast reservoir of guilt that has been slowly and steadily growing for the last half century or so. It is now a massive reservoir, and all of us are living downstream from the towering dam of our constitutional …
Audio Reading of Post
The Overshare Challenge
“Shannon thought her mother was shouting the word impotence and looked up at her second use of it to see that Chad the waiter was right there, right on time, to take their order. He stood there, looking as solemn as a judge, for which the girls were thoroughly grateful. He attended a small charismatic church in the area, and for him, dealing with overshare was a way of life, an art form.”
Epistolary Encomiums and Exhortations
Not about any letter in particular. Letter to the Editor: Regarding "Boris, Brexit and Great Balls of Fire," Doug, you're a great writer in English. IN ENGLISH. Sprinkling your stuff ...
So to Speak
“Michelle’s grandmother, a grand dame of the old school in Mississippi, would have said that Michelle was about to go stepping in high cotton.”
Boris, Brexit and Great Balls of Fire
Introduction: To hear some people talk about it, the rambunctious state of politics in the English-speaking world is merely about the various presenting issues—as in, whatever the next vote is going to be about. And of course, in some sense we have to grant that the issue, whatever it is, is the issue. But the …
Audio Reading of Post
And Probably Ponderosa Bark
“They were within walking distance of a number of upscale eateries and had no trouble picking out a little bistro with espresso and ferns, the kind of place that served exotic little art sandwiches with bark still in the bread”