PenDust Radio

FICTION | FRANCIS DUFFY

Rubbish is a short story about Joe Nickerson's cross-country hitchhiking adventure as he's on his way to serve in the Vietnam war. As Joe waits for rides, holding a sign that reads "TO WAR - VIA L.A. – U.S. Marine Corps," he recalls his draft-dodging father, his lioness of a mother, and how his youth in Catholic schools with hard-knuckle nuns made his transition to boot camp easier. Then, when the draft from a GTO passing at 70 mph spins his sign, he has an unexpected encounter with a raven-haired woman named Rita.

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MEMOIR | ROBERTO LOIEDERMAN

In January 1966, novelist and countercultural leader Ken Kesey held a three-day event in San Francisco called The Trips Festival. This story is Roberto Loiederman's recollection of the festival — a mind-bending event, as well as a dramatic turning point for Kesey, and those who attended.

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MEMOIR | ASHLEY MEMORY

A lamp purchased second hand seemed to be the ideal addition to her home until an investigation into the mysterious engraving on its base revealed a macabre history. As she discovered grisly details about the lamp's previous owner, her home life became agitated, and she wondered… Could the lamp be haunted?

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ESSAY | CAROL D. MARSH

"I'm Sorry, Monica" is a letter to Monica Lewinsky. In it, the author, Carol Marsh, takes a soul-searching look at how she reacted to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in the late 1990s. She explores the roots of her feminism and the family dynamics that affected it, and shares how the MeToo movement jarred her into examining how she and other women unfairly excoriated Ms. Lewinsky.

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FICTION | PATTY SOMLO

A former dancer and about-to-retire choreographer is surprised to receive a letter from a foreign country. The short, handwritten note rekindles memories of a love affair, and a separate friendship, decades before in Nicaragua. Her recollections spark insights that hadn’t been apparent to her so long ago.

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MEMOIR | TERRY BARR

The 1970s in Birmingham, Alabama, was a time fraught with racial tension and confusing questions of identity. Author Terry Barr found the music of that era confusing, as well. Southern rock competed with Glam and Disco, and for a long-haired guy like Terry, finding his place, his sub-culture, and the accompanying music wasn't easy.

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MEMOIR | SARAH K. LENZ

After Sarah Lenz's father gives her a creepy antique photograph depicting her three great uncles who were struck and killed by the same bolt of lightning in 1914, she sets out to discover their story and figure out why postmortem photography haunts her. “Lightning Flowers” is a thoughtful and moving meditation on what it means to remember the dead and confront one’s own mortality.

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MEMOIR | BETINA ENTZMINGER

"The Beak in the Heart: True Tales of Misfit Southern Women," is a collection of dramatic portraits of the author’s “misfit” female ancestors and a candid, intimate memoir about family secrets and breaking free of the narrow confines of being a “proper” southern woman. In this excerpt, Betina Entzminger tells the story of two of her “misfit” aunts who had the strength to handle the blows dealt to them by adversity, disappointment, and heartache in the South of the 1950s. This is a touching story about finding love, freedom, and fortitude.

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MEMOIR | ROBERTO LOIEDERMAN

In this brief memoir, Roberto Loiederman recalls a night in San Francisco, in the summer of 1965, that he spent with Hunter Thompson, the half-mad, cosmic prankster, and creator of gonzo journalism. For Roberto, the early days of the counterculture — the days of psychedelic rock, drugs, and free love — weren’t quite as romantic as they are remembered.

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MEMOIR | EMLYN CAMERON

Misfire is a story about a day when a friend takes Emlyn Cameron shooting. They leave the suburbs of Northern California with a shotgun, two handguns, a 22. calibre rifle, two AR-style rifles, and a black powder muzzleloader, to go shooting in a remote location. It looks to be a simple holiday lark, until things start to go awry.

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