blog
The author amid mining ruins, The
San Pedro River, Arizona
Photo by Melanie Norton
by Howard Petote Post # 16 April 23, 2019
Brooks
Hiking Sedona, the Grand Canyon and the San Pedro River,
including a visit with my cousin in Tucson, our recent vacation in
Arizona was a success. The last time I visited—incredibly, 30 years ago this month—was a much different experience. Hoping to explore countless wild areas of the southwest, I became ill in New Mexico, and finally turned my truck around just west of Casa
Grande, Arizona.
by Howard Petote Post # 17 February 20, 2023
The Angel of Pleiku, Scene Three
Once on Colerain, Arlene hits the gas. Her speedometer needle
flutters a few seconds, then shoots past forty. It's a straight shot
from here, but the street, bound by snowbanks, remains icy. She's
late because Dan left late—of all mornings his Pontiac wouldn't
start, and she had to jump the battery. Despite the storm, or any
other excuse, she's due for a warning. Trained like dogs, everyone
is expected to make the eight o'clock bell.
E
by Howard Petote Post # 18 April 26, 2023
The Angel of Pleiku and Our Hidden Wounds
"And this, is this from a bump, too?" She touches his lip with her finger, but he doesn't answer—he raises his hand to hers and gently traps it against her cheek. He leans into her palm, his mouth quivering—trying not to cry. "Life is tricky, isn't it, George?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
An abandoned swing set,
southern Illinois. (Upon
returning a few weeks later,
there was no sign of it.)
by Howard Petote Post # 19 February 1, 2025
The Lines That Bind
Emitting dim, yellow light, the phonebooth stands deserted on its
corner with Market and Cass. In the early morning stillness, the car door shuts with a thud, and then the only sounds are a buzz-
ing street lamp and the scuffing of her shoes. She enters the booth, leans against the glass and picks up the handpiece. Dropping a dime into the slot, she hears the tone and dials 411.
"Directory assistance—city and state, please?"
Coming into the city, as seen
from Front Street: Binghamton,
New York
Home Page
fiction by
fiction by
fiction by