e c l e c t i c a
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e c l e c t i c a
n o n f i c t i o n
Five Dollar Midlife Crisis
(Spotlight Runner-Up!)
My mother had wanted to spread her wings but didn't have the language skills. I became the Mamma bird, flying back to the nest to drop fat worms into her opened beak. This time was different. Her English was good enough, but Jesus was the reason on Sundays. She cast me out once again to do her bidding.
Ayoung Kim
Soon the concert was underway. I was so close, I could see the sweat and spit flying from Arch Enemy band members. The cloud above the amphitheater was thickening with dank smells of illicit herb. A drunk guy sitting next to me started hitting on me. I laughed to myself. Then I decided I needed a bit of a break from the amorous dude as well as the moshing starting to fire up. I left my jacket behind as a seat-holder and headed out to the restroom. I came back to find Opeth playing and my jacket doused with beer. Nonetheless, considering Opeth was one my personal music motivations for attending the concert, I was content to bathe myself in their innovative blend of melodic, progressive death metal.
Elizabeth Terese Marr
My father brought a large watermelon home one day, which he took to the backyard to carve on a chipped plate gingerly resting on an old cinder block. He extracted the juicy red center and told me to bring it to my mom. "Give her the heart because she is my heart," he said.
Zach Abend
After reading the book, I began to prepare myself for the day when I, too, would have to undergo a trial like the ones endured by the Little Mermaid and the Soviet pilot. I had a recurring dream in which I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, swinging my legs over the edge, only to discover smooth stumps, amputated above the knee. But I ran into an obstacle in my plan: it was hard to practice living without legs. So instead I settled on not using my left arm. I knew very well that this was a cowardly compromise, since giving up my right arm would be much harder, but I decided this was just the start.
Irina Ruvinsky
