SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2:00 PM Merle Temple Blood on the Ground
until he arrived at a weathered post, marking the turn he was to make into the f looded woods. With the nearly freezing water rising up to his knees, each step became easier as the ground loosened beneath him. Seth had waded only a short distance when he was shocked by the sound of ducks’ wings already f lapping in the water. The sun then broke across the horizon and he discovered a one-man steel blind, painted brown and surrounded by brush, planted on the edge of an opening in the engulfed woods. At the other side of this hidden gem was the real prize — mallard after mallard after mallard; an endless pool of drakes and hens. After entering the steel box and taking a seat on the solitary bench, the cold water rested along his waistline and the top of the blind just below his field of vision. Although the sun was rising behind him, Seth continued to sit in the cold until the point that he developed a small shiver. Still, all he could do was sit and watch in awe at the wonder in front of him. Mesmerized by the abundance of life before him, Seth did not even load his gun. How could he dare pierce the sky and interrupt this beauty as a whole? This is what he truly had been yearning for. So there he just sat. As the sun rose little by little, light began to shine into the blind. On the inside wall beneath some caked-on dirt, Seth noticed scratches that seemed not to belong in the rusted steel. Freezing his hands in the water while he washed away the Arkansas mud, he revealed a message left not too long ago: May this spot be an escape for you as it was for me — a chance to slow down and notice the life and beauty around us every day. Uncle Jason january 11th, 2016
MICHAEL COTTAM was born and raised in Memphis. He currently resides in Wasilla, Alaska.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3 2:00 PM R. J. Lee Bridge to Death: Grand Slam Murders
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10 2:00 PM Snowden Wright American Pop
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 6:30 PM Lit & Libations: Tim Johnston The Current
SHORT AND SWEET (or not-so-sweet), the Very Short
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15 5:00 PM Joy Fitzgerald
Story Contest welcomes
The Journey to Joy
entries of up to 750 words, maximum. Writers are
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17 2:00 PM
encouraged to incorporate the
Paint Her Dead
city into their work. Winning
Wanda Shelton
stories will be published in
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23 2:00 PM
Memphis and archived on
Mark Greaney
memphismagazine.com. Whereas the fiction contest was in the past a once-ayear event, the Very Short
Mission Critical
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24 1:00 PM Kay DiBianca The Watch on the Fencepost
Story Contest will publish a winning entry in each month’s issue. The Very Short Story Contest is presented
Novel is the presenter of Memphis magazine’s
by Novel, Memphis’ newest independent bookstore, where each winning author will be honored with a $200 gift certificate.
Mon–Sat: 9AM–9PM Sun: 10AM–5PM 387 Perkins Ext. Memphis, TN 38117 (901) 922-5526 • novelmemphis.com F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 25
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