So I Guess You Know What I Told Him by Stephen Dobyns

A gas man is heading into the cellar of Floyd Beefus when he slips and falls. You would think that Floyd would be willing to help the gas man who lies at the bottom of the stairs with a broken leg. But Floyd believes is something more than casuality: that everything happens for a reason. Floyd explains why his wife is upstairs dying because of past transgressions of his. Floyd tries to convince the gas man that his fall down the stairs was for a reason. In the end the gas man is cursing Floyd...

A definately funny and insightful story.

So I Guess You Know What I Told Him by Stephen Dobyns

A gas man is heading into the cellar of Floyd Beefus when he slips and falls. You would think that Floyd would be willing to help the gas man who lies at the bottom of the stairs with a broken leg. But Floyd believes is something more than casuality: that everything happens for a reason. Floyd explains why his wife is upstairs dying because of past transgressions of his. Floyd tries to convince the gas man that his fall down the stairs was for a reason. In the end the gas man is cursing Floyd...
A definately funny and insightful story.

So I Guess You Know What I Told Him by Stephen Dobyns

A gas man is heading into the cellar of Floyd Beefus when he slips and falls. You would think that Floyd would be willing to help the gas man who lies at the bottom of the stairs with a broken leg. But Floyd believes is something more than casuality: that everything happens for a reason. Floyd explains why his wife is upstairs dying because of past transgressions of his. Floyd tries to convince the gas man that his fall down the stairs was for a reason. In the end the gas man is cursing Floyd...

The Behavior of the Hawkweeds by Andrea Barrett

A woman is telling the story of her husband who is a professor. The story revolves around Gregor Mendel's famous paper on hybridization of peas. The story is given a twist as there is an account of an attempted rape of a girl who was helping in the plant nursery. For the rest of the story is the detailed description of the secret story of how Mendel's paper came to be...

The Drowning by Edward J Delaney

Alphonsus is ordained to the priesthood of his denomination and begins his post without any major issues to handle for several years. Then one day his life changes. He is awakened in the middle of the night with a relentless knock at the door. A boy stands at the door. "Father, you have to hear a confession," the boy said.

"Pardon?"

"A confession. You hear confessions, don't you?"

"Well, I thought you were . . ." Alphonsus felt a twinge of anger.

"Of course I hear confessions. But generally don't find children on my doorstep at odd hours. Now, get inside here. We'll do it in the study, and it had better be good."

"It's not I who needs to," the boy said. "The person is waiting inside the church."

The rest of the story unfolds of a man who has just murdered a policeman belonging to the Royal Irish Constabulary. (RIC) Tensions had risen between the RIC and the Irish Republican Army. With each killing of a policeman the Black and Tans (a group) would burn the village nearest the killing.

The murderer is asking for penance from Alphonsus. And here lies the crux of the story. What should Alphonsus do? As a priest he is bound to perform his duties. As a member of the village nearest the killing he wants to cover up the killing so as to not evoke the wrath of the Black and Tans...

Orientation by Daniel Orozco

If you recall a previous story entitled Docent, then you are going to enjoy this story. This is told from an omniscient narrator who is giving a new employee an orientation of the building but also about the lives of those that they will work with. The first part of the story reads: "Those are the offices and these are the cubicles. That's my cubicle there, and this is your cubicle. This is your phone. Never answer your phone. Let the Voicemail System answer it. . . There are no personal calls allowed. We do, however, allow for emergencies. If you must make an emergency phone call, ask your supervisor first. . .If you make an emergency phone call without asking, you may be let go."

I find the narration of this story fascinating as it provides both the new employee with an orientation but also the same experience for the reader. This story almost has a chiasmus feel to it. I didn't realize it until I read the final paragraph. "If you can't find your supervisor, ask Phillip Spiers. He sits over there. He'll check with Clarissa Nicks. She sits over there. If you can't find them, feel free to ask me. That's my cubicle. I sit in there."

This story has a hint of humorous wit which only makes this story that much more fun to read. With all of the doom and gloom stories that I have read, it is refreshing to find a story that makes you smile the whole way through.