BluestoneReview

The papers made note of her comings and goings. Mrs. F. T. Lillie skulked through Kanawha County, she: Directed the business girls’ circle. Presented the play, Her Day of Rest. Assisted at the 5th birthday of the son of Mrs. Charles Snow. Visited relatives in Pittsburgh, PA. Was ill at her home on Forest Avenue. Sewed for the Red Cross. Entertained the Mizpah class of the First Presbyterian Church.

Motored to Huntington for the football game. Attended a dance of the West Side Women’s Club. Entertained 100 guests at a covered dish supper. Dramatized the story of the American Indian. Decorated the table with bittersweet. But by ‘53, there was a new woman hiding under the cloak of Mrs. F. T. Lillie, when divorce became possibility. And as the world went Technicolor, our Fanny became Mrs. R. K. Belknap, and, later even, Mrs. Joseph Avigne, draped in a new name each decade (wouldn’t you love to love her?). A lady taking her husband’s name is a snake slithering through the lines of type, leaving us to piece it all together,

(you can’t say we never tried) making us work to remember.

When Facts Fail (Truth) by Carrie Rae Wiser

State your name. (Offspring. Sibling. Parent. Teacher. Caregiver. Friend. Fighter. Survivor. Comforter. ) Life begins when you take your first breath. (Conceived. Chosen. Adopted. Unshackled. Freed. Pardoned. Saved.) Parties cited irreconcilable differences. (Till death do us part.) Your child has a behavioral disorder. (Unique. Undeveloped. Inexperienced. Curious. Energetic. Non-con- forming. In need of grace.)

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