Dan's Blog

You’re cooking some gumbo, standing in front of the stove. I’m in your den checking out your books. Jazz plays. It’s a beautiful, cool evening, and the windows are open to let in the purple breezes. We’re making small talk while you cook. I come into the kitchen and lean on the counter. I’m watching […]

Chapter 1: Dad Blows a Gasket As a boy growing up in Moscow, I got disgusted with the adults around me. Everything was tinged with vodka. When my father got home from the borscht quarry at 9 PM, he’d not even say hello to me. Instead, he’d go straight to the cupboard for his vodka. […]

Billy Jackson stared at the quiz in front of him. He didn’t know the answer to any of the questions. Mr. Brackett, his English teacher, was walking around the classroom, every now and then helping a student, but more often shouting at them to quit talking, or to sit down and stop throwing things around […]