“Planting Roses” and the Sub-Text

You see the news stories every morning and evening: “Man kills family because they forgot his birthday.” The individuals, motives, circumstances are irrelevant — or they are all reduced to being the same. Violence has no respect for class, gender, age, or geography.

This repetitive, mindless brutality made me consider that perhaps the dead could make us all more aware of the living, whether in New Jersey or half a world away in Iraq.

Not to be obsessive about this problem—and the existential question of whether America is still a Cowboy Nation — I wrote “Planting Roses in Iraq.” In accepting the story, The Corner Club Press editor said, “Congratulations. I would love to feature your story in issue 1! It was deeply moving, sad, and haunting, especially at the end. Just what we need.”

You can read it at http://thecornerclubpress.com by clicking on then scrolling to page 109. Hope this is enjoyable — and perhaps instructive.