Jeney: Young Tender

I can only take the news in small doses.  I watch with my fingers laced together, covering my eyes.  I want to know but I’m afraid to. It’s silly.  I’m silly.  I’m afraid of earthquakes.  Living in California, it’s a valid concern.  I was here during Loma Prieta.  Which was smaller than the quake in…

A short while after applying Gold Bond medicated itching cream (with menthol) to a bug bite on my arm, I became suddenly aware that I must not have gotten all the lotion off of my hands after application. And as the menthol-induced coolness at the new and shocking location intensified, so did my wish that it…

I asked Frank to bring me up a can of soda. I can hear him saying, “Cold! Cold! Cold!” all the way from the fridge, up the stairs and to my room. He hands me the can and starts to say something.  Now, Frank takes a while to start a sentence.  The first word usually takes…

My house is a hostile environment.  Two things: This fly. It’s not only a Night Fly, so it never sleeps (still up. It’s a Meth Fly, I guess). And it’s the aggressive kind that constantly buzz your head and face and never land. I am very angry with this fly. Second, someone spilled water on…

Troy, David and Violet are about to leave on a backpacking trip in Yosemite. They are going to have so much fun! We will have fun, too. Except Hannah and Frank, who have back-to-school colds, even though we don’t go back to school. Because other kids go back to school and get colds, then spread…