Admitted Impediments(excerpt from The Magic Part: available free via email request below.)
Busin’ KidsIn the early 1970s, busing children to school has just become the law. Will drives a school bus. Camay is his first Black student passenger.
The Goodbye(excerpt from The Magic Part: available free via email request below.)
Happy Birthday, Trick or TreatA young boy learns to cope with responsibility and ego on Halloween, his father’s birthday. October Hill Magazine, Winter issue (volume 7, issue 4), pages 23 – 27.
The Lost Dime Two boys, Peter who is white and Cyril who is Black, become friends in a housing project in Philadelphia. It is the 1950s, and racial tension threatens their relationship. Cyril’s grandmother, two women, and a pair of snakes at a carnival sideshow exemplify what friendship is.
Lunch at the OgontzJake meets his elderly mother Naomi for their weekly lunch at the Ogontz Diner. It’s a mother-son meeting of the minds and personalities.
MagdalenaThe daughter of Polish Jews who escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto grows up in wartime Brooklyn.
Marisel’s BabyA young Puerto Rican girl is pregnant. She and her next door neighbor, a flamboyant fellow Boricua nicknamed Chochi, prepare for her desired delivery at Coney Island.
Moebius MindHoward engages a psychiatrist to help him with his writing and, by extension, his mental health.
The Music ClubTed and Steve, two of the three members of the Georgetown Music Club, reunite at a Washington, DC bar. The Brussels Review, August 9, 2024, https://thebrusselsreview.com/dennis-martin-brooks/the-music-club/.
Once Upon a DreamOn his way to a job at Disney World, Chris has a car accident that results in his acquiring an unusual talent.
Twice Upon a Time Now living in a nursing home in Florida, Peter of The Lost Dime tries to befriend a more recalcitrant resident, Robert. October Hill Magazine, Fall issue (volume 9, issue 3), pages 33 – 36.
Up the Down EscalatorAfter his daily exercise on his bike, Father John accidentally runs into Sarah as they exit the Washington DC metro.
