When I was seven years old, my parents lost me at the State Fair of Texas. Their last sight of me, I’d slipped into a crowd of folks shuffling into a garish tent on the midway. I imagine them watching as I stood in line, my hair done up in twin pony-tails in the style … Continue reading Freaks at the Fair
Author: mstturpin
Writer in Plano, Texas trying to get the words out of her head and onto the page.
The Onion Capitol
The places we visit are never as perfect as they are in our memory. My grandmother’s house in Farmersville, Texas no longer exists. A remodeled version of the Dairy Queen I visited as a barefoot child sits beside the highway and still serves up chocolate dipped cones and cheeseburgers. You can see the Dairy Queen … Continue reading The Onion Capitol
How Sweet It Is
Photo by the Author We didn’t need twenty-five pounds of sugar, but I felt a small thrill of satisfaction as I lifted the plastic bag onto my cart. The sensation could have been a stab of pain from hefting the heavy sack. “What will we do with that much sugar?” My husband, Andrew asked. “I’ll … Continue reading How Sweet It Is
This is a War Machine
The USS Cavalla rests at Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas. On June 19, 1944 she sank the Japanese carrier Shokaku, one of the warships responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Andrew and I climbed down the ladder into the sub, a giggling group of teenage girls behind us. The Cavalla, decommissioned in 1946, was … Continue reading This is a War Machine
What Falls From the Sky Does Not Strike Me
The author — Photo by her patient husband, Andrew Our rented Buick rocked as the tractor trailers and rock haulers zipped past on the highway. I gripped the door handle, certain a homicidal maniac steered each truck rushing by, intent on racking up another victim on their way to the West Texas oil fields. We had selected the … Continue reading What Falls From the Sky Does Not Strike Me
Meet Me at the Vanishing Point
Another version of me has dirt under her fingernails Photo: Geri Lavrov/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images PlusIf another me exists in another universe, I picture her clad in a red gingham dress or blue denim overalls. She toils on a farm surrounded by corn and cows. This is the life I might have lived, had I followed the … Continue reading Meet Me at the Vanishing Point
A Bird in the Basket
Photo by Alvaro Daimiel on Unsplash I hadn’t planned on sharing the 650 square feet of space I called home. Andrew and I had reached the point in our dating life where he kept a spare toothbrush at my place and I had cleared out a shelf in my closet for him. I could barely fit … Continue reading A Bird in the Basket
Goodbye Old Friend
My new car is a spaceship. The dash has more buttons and dials than Doc’s DeLorean did in Back to the Future. It runs on premium gas, though, and not recycled garbage. My brand-new Honda Civic Sport Touring might be the last car I ever buy. “What are you going to name your new car?” Andrew … Continue reading Goodbye Old Friend
Whistle Britches
Andrew and I were wandering through the clearance section in men’s clothing at Macy’s when we spotted them. A row of corduroy pants in vivid orange and royal blue. “No one wants the whistle britches,” Andrew commented. “Do you think they have my size?” I asked. I love a bargain. “Please, no.” Andrew does not … Continue reading Whistle Britches
The Enchanted Rock and the Little Hill
Image by GeorgeB2 from Pixabay “We should visit Enchanted Rock,” Andrew suggested one evening, not long after we started dating. I pictured a place shrouded in a sparkling mist and peopled with tiny fairies peeking from behind evergreens. I worried whether the rock, enchanted or not, would provide shade. I’m a great fan of shade, especially … Continue reading The Enchanted Rock and the Little Hill
Let's Get Out of Here 