At twenty-three I was a widow with a three-year-old son. When my son was about eight, I got a teaching job in Grayslake and we moved to Libertyville, two towns I had never heard of until then. Acting as both mother and father was no easy task and sometimes I made mistakes. Most of my mistakes were unimportant and are long gone from memory, but the incident I tell here is one that will stay with me as long as […]
“Nice” comes to us from Megan Stielstra’s new book Once I was Cool, published by Curbside Splendor and on sale now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Powell’s. Picture it: 1998, I’m 23 years old and sitting on the front couch at Tuman’s, which back then was called The Alcohol Abuse Center. Remember the Alcohol Abuse Center? Right?! The most miserable, disgraceful, health-code violating awesome fucking dive bar in Chicago? Seriously. Fireside Bowl, Liar’s Club, the Mutiny on Western where I once saw a […]
It’s hard to be black when you’re ethnically ambiguous. But what’s not is to hear the questions “What are you?” or “Where are you from” a lot. For me, the answer’s kind of complicated. It goes a little something like this: So, my dad’s from Cape Verde, that’s a country in Africa. But he grew up in Cape Cod, that’s in Massachusetts. My mom is Jewish, she’s from New Jersey. She didn’t like being a Jew from New Jersey so […]
This is a story about Christmas. This is a story about my grandmother. This is a story about her unfailing trust and love. But it’s mostly a story about what a badass she is. December of 1996, my sophomore year of college. It was the last day of finals before Winter Break. I was excited to go home and see my family and take a well-deserved rest from the rigors of my class load. But I was more excited to […]
True personal stories are usually about the people who tell them. This one, though, is a story I only thought was about me. Later, I found out it was someone else’s story, though I’m the one left behind to tell it. PART I – Lincoln Square I live in Lincoln Square. When I say that these days, you know what that means. It means Sulzer Regional Library and the renowned Merz Apothecary and Meyer’s Deli, with its delightful rooftop garden. […]
I have known the most amazing dog that has ever lived. I understand that you might be offended by this controversial statement, because you believe you have known the most amazing dog that has ever lived, but this is not a conversation. I’m just stating a fact. The truth. Frankie The Dog (her formal name) was a ten-year-old- neurotic and strange black Labrador retriever and on one winter’s day I arrived home from work to find no Frankie – at least […]
“When She Was Good” was originally performed at Speak Easy in Columbus, OH. Click “Read more” to watch a video of Ralph Fredericks’ performance. Ralph Fredericks is the scion of snake handlers and moonshiners… debutantes and two bit hookers…dimwits and mystics… storytellers all. He crafts his tales in the nurturing family of yarn spinners and kind listeners that is Speak Easy at Wild Goose Creative in Columbus, Ohio.
For one summer when I was sixteen years old, I worked at Great America, in a game booth called “The Amazing Alfredo.” You’d give me one dollar and I’d guess your age or weight within three years or three pounds. You’d write one of these numbers down on a slip of paper and hand it back to the Six Flags employee to your right, who is stoned. His name is Chip. Think of Chip as your arbitration counselor and this […]
Some superheroes are ordinary citizens, transformed by chance into defenders of peace and justice. You know, your Spider-men, your Incredible Hulks. Some are born to a life of heroism, like Superman or Harry Potter. Some undergo a terrible trauma and vow to seek revenge, like Batman or the Punisher. As a child, this sort of career didn’t seem that far out of reach. Not that I couldn’t distinguish fantasy from reality, but I had an acute sense of fairness, strong […]
