Themes
Stupid Things
If you can’t laugh at yourself, my grandpa told me, you’re not doing enough stupid things. I told him I didn’t usually run out of stupid things, but it’s hard to laugh that long at anything.
Strange Plant
I have a friend who found a strange plant in her garden one day & she watered it for three months & still wasn’t sure it was a vegetable. Her sister was a nurse & said she knew how she felt.
Street Signs
These are all the street signs for this area but he keeps moving them around at night so the only people who aren’t lost all the time are the children who never pay attention to signs anyway.
Stress Management
I can imagine it working out perfectly, I said. I can’t, she said & I said no wonder you’re so stressed.
Stress Reduction
I have so much less stress, he said, now that I’ve given up on ambition.
Strange Country
She asked my sons what strange countries they had been to & my oldest son said England & my youngest said we live in Iowa & they all agreed that was strangest of all.
(Note: The name of the state can be changed if you think yours is more strange than Iowa…)
Strange Dream
It was a strange dream, he said, & I don’t remember a thing except it kept my attention the whole time.
Stopping Point
How hard is it to make stuff up? she said. Not hard at all, I said.
The real trick is knowing to stop before you get confused.
Straight Forward
Start here & go until you die, he said. What’s so complicated about that?
Star Gazer
likes to navigate by the stars even when she’s just zipping over to the mall
Start Up
How do you start a religion? he said.
I think you have faith & then you wait for a miracle, I said. At least that’s how it’s been done before.
He nodded. OK, he said, so it’s a lot like e-commerce.
Status
I don’t wear stuff to impress people, she said. I can’t afford it yet.
Spontaneous Makeup
I’m at my best when I’m 15 minutes late, she said. Even my makeup looks more spontaneous.
Stand Still
The loss is not yours alone, she said & you will see it in their eyes when they do not think you are watching. How long does it take? I said & she put her hand on my chest & we did not speak.
Standards
Won’t drink a cheap red no matter how much they threaten him.
Special Occasions
He kept her skin in the closet & brought it out only for holidays so not to get crumbs on it. Do you still love me? she would ask at the end of each day & he would hum her a song as he smoothed away the creases.
Spell Check
Does this spell anything? he said. I shook my head.
Maybe you should look again, he said, in case you missed something the first time.
Spider Princess
If I was a spider princess, she said, I would spin webs the color of sky & catch drops of sunlight to give to children who watch too much TV & then everyone would remember to come outside to play. If I was a spider princess, she said, things would be different.
Something True
My favorite thing is saying something true, he said, but I’m a lot younger than you & don’t have to worry so much about my reputation.
Songs to Herself
She waved at all the people on the trains & later, when she saw they didn’t wave back, she started singing songs to herself & it went that way the whole day & she couldn’t remember having a better time in her life.