it was the long, leaning hand of my Uncle Lyle, the youngest brother of Doris, who had lettered the wooden sign over the cabin door when I was a baby. …

Lyle and the Lake Read More

and stopped on the very last step with my hand over my mouth. I had braced myself for something shameful. What I found was a warm, bright workshop, with a …

Hank and Hale Street Read More

I lifted the lid, and the smell of cedar and baby powder rose up. Inside lay a tiny white knitted cap, a paper hospital bracelet gone yellow, and a birthday …

Bev and the Shoeboxes Read More

The winch groaned, the chain came up streaming water, and the case rose out of the lake like a sleeping animal. It was long and gray with brass latches, the …

Leon and the Piling Read More

The first cabinet opened with a screech of rusted steel, and the smell of dry paper and machine oil rolled out. The locksmith from Grand Island stepped back. Inside were …

Roy and the Little Bin Read More

The key on the blue ribbon turned the deadbolt on the first try. I had found it in the nightstand drawer a week earlier and carried it in my shirt …

Linda and the Jars Read More

The backhoe operator, a big quiet man named Leroy Pickens, dug a wide trench around the drum for most of the morning. Roots as thick as my arm had wrapped …

Walt and the Oak Read More

The mason, a quiet man named Dennis Fiore, took out the bricks one by one and laid them in a neat stack on a bedsheet. Dust filled the living room, …

Ron and the Chimney Read More

The mechanic, Hollis Webb, made me sign a paper, and my grandson Tyler signed under it as the witness. Then Hollis put on his welding mask and the torch hissed …

Gene and the Old Car Read More

The torch hissed for four minutes, and then the hatch came up with a groan. The well man, Earl Rudd, went down first with a flashlight and called up that …

Dale and the Well Read More