Gangsters

A story of Tom Pendergast: “This was back in the ’30s. These kids were freezing. They slept in their coats. They had no coal. The mom went to ask Pendergast for help, and right away a truck pulled up with a huge load of coal. Every night, ever after, before they ate dinner, this woman […]

The Sights

I drove through Leavenworth again recently. I remembered driving a friend up there. Leavenworth’s prison was one of the three things she wanted to see in Kansas. She had never been to the midwest. Grew up in Jersey, lived in New York City. She flew in for a bar mitzvah, and in her free time, […]

Sisterhood

The God I imagined looked sort of like Albert Brooks, but with a beard. We all know how holy beards are. After three days at the monastery, I expected this bearded comedian to wander in the room and say, “Everything going okay? Can I get you anything?” When God talk is constant and enveloping, when […]

So we’re standing out in the hot Missouri summer humidity, and before us is the mouth of the cave. You want to go in there. It’s hot. Also you want to go there because there are children with your party, and you’re thinking real hard about how you can explain to children that you […]