By M.J. Downing Denny Crandell, my classmate Robbie’s odd fraternal twin, showed up at my door on Duncan Avenue after six o’clock one evening just before Halloween, 1968.  My friend Tim Rogers and I had been listening to WAKY on my transistor radio and reading comics in my room when the doorbell rang, and Dad, who’s... Continue Reading →

They ran to Marty’s old Nova, which sat alone in front of Our Mother of Sorrows church, but no cadre of police, security guards, and irate staff followed them out of the hospital. Drew’s thoughts were reeling, though he had Kyle’s voice to calm him down.  Marty had only the impression that something horrible had happened... Continue Reading →

M.J. Downing. Part One. “Line of Scrimmage.” Drew kept his head down, waiting for the snap of the ball that would pull him from his left guard position, around the left end on a sweep. He’d lead the way for Kyle Jensen, his best friend, and tailback. Drew would mow down the first guy from... Continue Reading →

M.J. Downing             Drew fought to remember a time in his life when he was light.  He’d been the heavy kid since before he could remember, and when he started his long, slow journey with the weights in his garage, he’d only gotten heavier. And, at that, he wasn’t slow. Football had taught him to move. His... Continue Reading →

M.J Downing “I didn’t mean what I said before.We’ve just got to get her outta there, is all,” Kyle’s voice insisted near Drew’s ear. They stood in the dark under the trees behind the home of Dr. Marshal Stevenson, his wife Delores, and their much abused daughter, Mary Beth. There wasn’t much time before dawn and... Continue Reading →

M.J. Downing “You’d better not go back to the locker room with the rest of the team,” Marty said. “It’d be best if you let me put you in my car and take you home.” They’d placed Drew’s unconscious father inside his pick-up truck, slumped over the wheel.They could smell that he’d been drinking, and... Continue Reading →

M.J. Downing Drew’s uniform number couldn’t be seen for the mud caked on him. It was Thursday night, and Durrett played St. Xavier at the old Manual High field on Burnett street in the midst of a driving rain.  Very late in the game, the score stood at 14-0 for St. X. Durrett’s ground game, which... Continue Reading →

M.J. Downing.             The news that Mary Beth’s father was the forbidding force that Drew encountered in St. Joe’s shut the boy down. Thus far in their time together, Drew had never drawn away in thought from Kyle.  Kyle Jensen alone, apart from Drew’s mother, was the only person to whom he had opened up, talked, listened... Continue Reading →

M.J. Downing             His shoes squelching on the bright linoleum, Drew trudged into the foyer of St. Joseph’s hospital leaving puddles as he went. The janitor, an old, dark skinned man with thick, white hair, took one look at Drew and followed him, mop in hand, bucket trailing. The janitor had already mopped away the smaller... Continue Reading →

Part 3.  “Unknown Country.” M.J. Downing             In his dream, Drew stood in a high place, almost in the clouds, and it didn’t matter how he was there or what he stood on. His arms held a young lady dressed in something like a genie costume.  She was sandy-haired and green eyed, freckled, and not skinny. Perfect.  Her strength... Continue Reading →