Recap: In southeast Idaho, near Pocatello, word circulated that their 83-year-old U.S. senator would retire at the end of his 11th term. Word also buzzed about the president of the Idaho Ranchers Association, Barbara Nascovar (born Smithee), who had announced her intention to run for the vacated seat in Washington. “Smart as a whip,” they […]
Recap: Two Boston Police officers and an FBI agent startled Ricky and his mom when they pounded on the front door at one in the morning. The law enforcement officers were actually pretty friendly. They asked Ricky about what he heard and saw the previous night, the night of the attack and fire at Mr. […]
Recap: Night fell at last over the neighborhood. Ricky and his mom watched a bit of the local news, learning the bigger picture of the fire and murder down the street. The whole of Massachusetts and the roads immediately proximate to it would be abuzz all night with local law enforcement, county sheriffs, state police, […]
Barbara Nascovar came from a long line of Idahoans. Her family had lived on the rural lands south of Pocatello for five generations. Arbon, Pauline, Cedarhill… It’s horse country, and the Smithees bred and raised horses. Smithee was Barbara’s name before she married Emil Nascovar, a tall, one-time cowboy, half Lakota and half Latino. Well, […]
Recap: During an unexpected blackout in the neighborhood, Ricky and his mom hit the deck after hearing automatic gunfire down the street. Ricky saw casualties: firefighters injured and killed while battling the blaze at Mr. Skandowski’s. It seemed as if the entire Boston police force roared towards the scene, but the assailants were long gone. […]
Do we know how to vote in our own best interests? The easy answer is, “Yes, of course.” But isn’t that lackadaisical answer, born of the desire for ever more facile and rapid solutions, at the root of our problems? For instance, does a fictional “Bob Smith,” a more qualified and more responsive candidate for […]
Recap: On an otherwise unremarkable spring night, in a pretty Boston neighborhood, a massive residential blaze sparks a blackout. As Ricky and his mother hunker down, they’re shaken by the sound of automatic gunfire down the street. Then, unbelievably… firefighters wounded… or dead?.. on the pavement in front of Mr. Skandowski’s burning house. Why? The […]
Recap: John Q. Private, Sr. completed his second term as governor of Mississippi. His son Johnny immediately succeeded him, and everyone got to stay in the governor’s mansion! On his first day in office, he was whisked away to an expensive, liquid lunch by “Wild” Wanda Watkins. Too much wine, too much champagne. And Johnny’s […]
A spring evening in Boston takes a turn Seventeen-year-old Ricky lay on his bed on a Friday evening before dinner. He was mentally exhausted from a tough week at school. Ricky, you see, is what they call a gifted student—a high-achiever. As he waited for the familiar call from his mom downstairs, he stared at […]
“Jeez, Wanda…” said Johnny Q. Private, the new governor of Mississippi. He felt he ought to say something, but that’s as much as he could come up with. In the back of that black limo, with the fractionally dressed Wild Wanda Watkins, in broad daylight—let’s face it—Johnny didn’t stand a chance, not by a longshot. […]