Ki-on carries on. Carmen manipulates. Carlos and Justin complain. Ibrahim defies. Seated in a horseshoe formation, in a corner room, they test me while taking their tests. I feel the familiar sensations: tightening in the throat and chest, tension in the neck and shoulders, gritted teeth. My frustration […]
The traffic is bumper-to-bumper south of Anthony Wayne Recreation Area. A five-minute drive to the first exit for Bear Mountain takes an hour. When we learn the park is closed, due to reaching capacity, we realize we won’t make Oktoberfest. parked carson the highway medianfoot traffic Peekskill’s Downtown […]
All he needed to do was print his answers. But when he plugged his Alpha Smart into the printer and keyed the sequence to print, the device failed. We waited—in vain—for help from Astor’s Tech support, a CUNY intern in over his head. I scribed his answers and […]
I can’t remember how I met them. Or their names. They were college students abroad, like me. We rented bikes, toured the city and surrounding countryside. We visited the city square first, where the clocktower punctured the sky. Then we rode through narrow, winding streets until we reached […]
The broom rests against the vinyl siding adjacent to the storm door. Its yellow bristles scatter out like unkempt hair from one side. A black foam guard overlays a gray plastic staff. Mira steps outside, chattering with her sister overseas. She sweeps curled, yellowing maple leaves on-handed as […]
Husband, Father, Writer, Teacher. American Haijin. Because Haikai matters!
Frank J. Tassone 