Ilsa Monique Carter “There are more tears shed over answered prayers than unanswered prayers.” Saint Teresa of Avila Can’t blame U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Barrett for being born Amy Coney. Nor would I fault my fellow New Orleans native for having Irish Catholic parents who, like mine, sent her to St. Mary’s Dominican High School. Back then … Read more
“I’m leaving.” “Oh?” “Yes. I’m moving on. Been puttin’it off, but gotta go today.” “Baggage ready?” “Gonna do that now because it’s getting late.” “Why don’t I pack you a tuna fish sandwich, just in case?” “Yep. Good idea.” In the bedroom, I flung the doors of all three floor-to-ceiling closets open wide, which were … Read more
Pint-sized, the pub was a little too far off from Glendalough for foreigners to find. It hadn’t been designed for domesticated dads on the quest to Clara Lara Fun Park, but the Maze in Greenan grew close enough to spew a few tourists and persistent purists seeking a pew, found Byrne’s quaint. That faintly disowned … Read more
SINGLE. That’s what my train ticket says. It sticks out in the rain like a young tongue between the teeth of an old machine’s slot. Besotted as I am with the tingle to mingle, naturally I snatch it whispering, ‘Thanks a lot.’ Koreans claim a girl is gold till she’s old. Silver tarnishes on the … Read more
In the year of our Lord 2019, what remained engrained was an émigré from the hoi omphaloi of confusion and strife. The Easter in question came late on the calendar but much like the highly controversial transubstantiation, the bitter end of Holy Week started as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall … Read more
I felt him sliver under my shirt as she belted me in with a quicksilver click. The shoulder strap muffled my mouth and eclipsed an eye. Mom sipped her coffee, singing along to the song on the radio, ‘One less egg to fry … ’ Only half of what lay ahead was in sight, but … Read more
I learned to drive in a field when I was five, from the same grandfather who taught me how to ride a horse and chew tobacco. At age ten, I took my other grandfather’s El Camino out on Highway 1, the longest road in Louisiana, from church camp all the way to vacation bible school. … Read more