LatinosUSA

Broken English                     

My sister, Jo, and I enjoyed having fun. This continued into young adulthood. We often went for drives on Sundays.

On one jaunt, I suddenly had an inspired idea. I stopped the car near a boy who was in his yard. “Ein Flugzeug aus Rio landet gerade!” I exclaimed.

He didn’t understand.

“Wife…baby come…hospital where?”

The boy ran to get his parents. I drove away.

Jo asked what the words meant. “An airplane from Rio is just landing,” I responded.

She looked at me, puzzled.

I explained, “It’s all I remember from German class.”

Originally published by “The Soul Poetry, Prose & Arts Magazine”

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Sloe Gin

Sloe gin!

1972. 14 years old. First time drunk. Trying to impress my oldest sister’s girlfriend.

“What’s in that cup?” my sister asked.

“Coffee,” I lied.

Then they left the house. Head spinning, puking, collapsing on the sofa. Mom found me.

“Is anyone really happy?” I asked her.

Slow spin!

Originally published by “The Stygian Lepus Magazine”

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Hardening of the Arteries

When her husband passed away after a brief battle with cancer, my grandmother tried to lift him from the casket.

Five years passed.

She was found wandering around town during the winter, without a coat. Her family reluctantly put my grandmother in what was then known as an old people’s home.

Grandma had what was then called hardening of the arteries.

Visiting her became a chore; eventually, my grandmother did not recognise anyone, not even my father. Although Dad faithfully continued his weekly visits to his mother, my sister and I did not. Our teenage lives took precedence. A few years went by.

Then curiosity and guilt.

Finally, my sister and I went to visit. The nurse brought a woman to us: wheelchair-bound, a wizened, hunched-over old crone, eyes still periwinkle blue, but vacant.

I thought of the song, “Is That All There Is?”

Originally published by “Literary Yard”