Stories – Page 2 – Irene North

It was just a knock at the door

On March 31, 2021

My eyes were fixated on the clock. It read 7:43 a.m. Karla would be knocking on my door soon. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we walked together to Bessey Hall. She had a class and I went into the Anthropology lab to clean and label artifacts.

I was stretched out on the couch under my bald eagle blanket. I stared at the red numbers on the digital clock and watched it turn to 7:44 a.m. There was a bang on my door. My eyes rapidly shifted to my doorknob. Did I remember to lock the door last night?

The perfect pitch

By Irene

On March 8, 2021

In Gram, Stories

Bats: L; Hits L; BA: .367; ERA: 1.97; Age: 13; Height 5ft. 0in.; Weight: 95 pounds; Position; P, 1st

I stared at the signs Stacy was showing 60 feet away. I shook her off a few times before settling in on my “go-to” pitch. I could place it almost anywhere.

Standing on the pitcher’s mound, the entire world melted away. My teammates knew I liked it quiet, so the normal cheers of encouragement were rarely heard when I was on the mound. I shut out the people screaming in the stands. It was just me, the catcher, and the batter.

Just a fool walking to school

By Irene

On March 1, 2021

In Stories

I was a junior in high school before I first attempted to take the bus to school. If you lived more than two miles from school, the district would provide a school bus for students. This was a new experience for me. I was nervous. I had always walked to school, but the idea of not being cold in winter or arriving to school sweaty in June was enticing.

An anniversary, of sorts

By Irene

On January 22, 2021

In Stories

Today is the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a 1973 Supreme Court decision, which saved my life in 1984.

I’m only a dolphin ma’am

By Irene

On January 1, 2021

In Stories

It’s tagline was, “If you forgot what terror was like…it’s back,” except I wasn’t terrified until I went to sleep.

A black and white New Year

By Irene

On December 31, 2020

In Stories

We all agreed to meet at my mom’s house in New York and spend New Year’s Eve in New York City.

Two days and five hours later

By Irene

On December 25, 2020

In Stories

It was supposed to arrive on November 20. It’s finally here.

Making hard choices

By Irene

On November 20, 2020

In Stories

Our Thanksgiving turkey.

Since March when words like COVID, coronavirus, social distancing, and mask wearing became part of our regular vocabulary, I’ve worked hard to try and keep my life as normal as possible. I struggle to do that now.

My hair went that way on its own

By Irene

On November 18, 2020

In Stories

I carefully used the point of my trowel to flick away a piece of dirt from the artifact. After I had scraped enough large pieces of dirt with the trowel, I reached over to my kit and grabbed my brush. It wasn’t yet clear what the artifact was, so I gently moved the brush back and forth, clearing away the dirt to get a better sense of what I had found.

Rabbit turns 50

By Irene

On July 5, 2020

In Stories

The last known photo of Rabbit.

My father found Rabbit in the gift shop at Horton Memorial Hospital. He took Rabbit up to my mother’s hospital room and gave Rabbit to me. He and my mother had been awake all night. I had caused them to miss the Independence Day fireworks. It seems I hated fireworks from the very beginning.

For most of my life, I’ve relied on Rabbit to help me get through the tough times, to share in the good times, and to keep my secrets.

Writings

Category: Stories Page 2 of 7

It was just a knock at the door

The perfect pitch

Just a fool walking to school

An anniversary, of sorts

I’m only a dolphin ma’am

A black and white New Year

Two days and five hours later

Making hard choices

My hair went that way on its own

Rabbit turns 50