Family Ties

My 13th year wasn't the easiest for my family. Every few months, the company Dad worked for would send him away for two or three weeks to inspect pipes in submarines. Sometimes it was Spain. Other times it was South Carolina, Scotland or Guam. Every time he'd leave, Mom would tape newspaper sheets over the [...]

I’m in the cleaning-supplies aisle at the supermarket, pulling with all my might on a plunger stuck to the floor. Shoppers stare as they squeeze around me. I want to apologize, but I don’t dare. If I did, I’d have to look up from the floor and let all those mature, responsible adults see that [...]