LAVERN, REDHEADED WAITRESS DOWN AT THE ROUND-UP DINER

Charlie exited the U.S. Army at twenty-three and returned home to Alabama seeking solitude and the warm hand of a loving God. What he found, instead, was the reptilian claws of marriage. Ten years and four kids later, he was scratching at the door like a man buried alive.

© John C. Erianne 2001