Stories tagged new-orleans

Dizzy

47194719 views3232 comments2020 favs

It’s never good to get arrested on an empty stomach.

Death on the Caribbean

4848 views11 comment22 favs

I was nearing the end of a long journey. The sun was large. I was weary but awake. I wanted food (...)

One Big Ghetto, One Big Parking Lot

5555 views55 comments77 favs

It should be a simple law of the universe that anyone waiting for a freshly-minted Xanax prescription should not have to stand in line for two and a half hours in a pharmacy packed wall-to-wall with hurricane evacuees. People talk only of FEMA, homeowner's policies, flood…

Le Bon Temps

2121 views11 comment11 fav

By the time the tuba player rolls in from Houston, there's only an hour left until curfew. He shuffles his way through the crowd on the sidewalk, dips his horn through the doorway, and wedges himself up onto the tiny stage with the other four players. Now the Hot 8 Brass…

FEMA, FEMA, and more FEMA

8282 views00 comments11 fav

The FEMA man has an electronic clipboard and an electronic pen, and he taps away as I answer his questions. “Robbi your real name?” he says. “Not short for Roberta or Robin or something?” “Nope,” I say. “My name is Robbi.” …

Social Aid & Pleasure (novel excerpt)

1313 views33 comments00 favs

There were aliens at Roswell after all. Hundreds of the dusty bastards.

Chapter 1/cats

147147 views33 comments00 favs

Cats always seemed very European to me, flourishing as they did in decrepit, ancient spaces as long as the food kept coming.

Traveling Lightheaded

11691169 views44 comments11 fav

He lit my cigarette even though he didn't want me to smoke. Buying me drinks all night, he didn't complain, but he thought I drank too much.

Cows

24162416 views2222 comments1313 favs

When you live in New Orleans, the only time you ever get to see cows is at the Winn-Dixie 24 Hour Super Store, in the back between the dairy and the seafood.

Easy to Show

13961396 views66 comments33 favs

“3.9 million dollars,” she whispered to the window.

Rubble Fever

172172 views55 comments44 favs

Two summers ago, there was a flickering moment, before my conscience kicked in, when I considered setting fire to this house.

The Cone of Uncertainty

138138 views33 comments33 favs

I slept through my first hurricane.

Rubble Fever, continued

9999 views11 comment00 favs

The Saturday morning before Hurricane Katrina hits, my phone starts ringing before dawn, but I am slow to wake.

Calvin Hangs

121121 views55 comments44 favs

I never faked being electrified, nor sniffed a broken open tooth, or mothball

Butterfly, Butterflown

1717 views00 comments00 favs

Erik Amré watches a butterfly advance against the breeze in Boston. Erik fears metamorphosis because he cannot foreknow what he'll become, yet he fears what he has become: adrift and a disappointment to the memory of his students and…