Alphabet a History

The following piece of creative nonfiction is part of a series I started on my personal blog a few years ago called “Alphabet: A History,” which is a collection of short, autobiographical vignettes, focusing mainly on relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, and self). I will be publishing the series on Fridays. Alphabet: A History (I) Icy Steps It’s the middle of January and I’m 27 years old. My boyfriend of four years is moving out today and I’m in the kitchen packing up his plates. I’ve negotiated a lower rent with my landlord for a couple of months while I look for a place of my own. Ben says I can keep his…

The following piece of creative nonfiction is part of a series I started on my personal blog a few years ago called “Alphabet: A History,” which is a collection of short, autobiographical vignettes, focusing mainly on relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, and self). I will be publishing the series on Fridays. Alphabet: A History (H): The Hollow Men It’s August, 1994 and I’m in my second week of college in Springfield, Missouri. I live in Woods Hall, the only all-women dorm on campus and share an 18′ x 12′ room with a square dancing, biology major from Colorado. Across the hall are my new friends Katy and Jessica. They’re both in the dorky…

The following piece of creative nonfiction is part of a series I started on my personal blog a few years ago called “Alphabet: A History,” which is a collection of short, autobiographical vignettes, focusing mainly on relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, and self). I will be publishing the series on Fridays. Alphabet, A History (F): Foster Beach It’s May, and I’m 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and Foster Beach opens up to me like an outstretched palm holding all the secrets of the summer ahead. It’s June and Chad has just finished school for the year. He waits for me on his bike outside my apartment on Winnemac and I rush out, wearing…

The following piece of creative nonfiction is part of a series I started on my personal blog a few years ago called “Alphabet: A History,” which is a collection of short, autobiographical vignettes, focusing mainly on relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, and self). I will be publishing the series on Fridays. D: Drew It’s early spring, late afternoon, and I’m having beers and burgers with girlfriends at The Edgewater. It’s warm enough that we can sit on the patio outside, which is a good thing because some of us haven’t remembered locks for our bikes. We lean them against the unpainted picket fence where we can keep an eye on them while we…

The following piece of creative nonfiction is part of a series I started on my personal blog a few years ago called “Alphabet: A History,” which is a collection of short, autobiographical vignettes, focusing mainly on relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, and self). I will be publishing the series on Fridays. C: Coffee I’m 15 and on a school trip to Holland for a week. I’ve packed my entire wardrobe into two bursting-at-the-seams suitcases and wear my hair in little buns all over my head just like Bjork and Madonna do. In The Hague we stay in a 4-star hotel with a pool and complimentary breakfasts and one morning before we head out…

The following piece of creative nonfiction is part of a series I started on my personal blog a few years ago called “Alphabet: A History,” which is a collection of short, autobiographical vignettes, focusing mainly on relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, and self). I will be publishing the series on Fridays. B: Bike My first big-girl bike is classic: hot pink with a banana seat and shiny steamers on the handle bars. In the parking lot outside our high-rise apartment on Yokota Air Base in Japan, my father holds the back of my seat as I pedal unsteadily. It’s a test of patience and stamina for us both, and not at all unlike…

The following piece of creative nonfiction is part of a series I started on my personal blog a few years ago called “Alphabet: A History,” which is a collection of short, autobiographical vignettes, focusing mainly on relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, and self). I will be publishing the series on Fridays. A: Allison I’m six and we’ve just moved to Tokyo from Chinhae, Korea. We’ve left our dogs behind and the only thing that gets me over it is the anticipation of a new baby. Allison is born on a cold day in the middle of winter five months after the move. My first grade class is at a special Air Force band…