Sold on a Monday

by Kristina McMorris

“Even when life’s downright lousy, most kids are still so resilient because…well, I guess ’cause they don’t know any different. It’s like they only realize how unfair their lives are if you tell them. And even then, all they need is the smallest amount of hope and they could do just about anything they set their minds to…”

pen stories of “women, wampum, and wrongdoing,” as Mr. Walker liked to put it. In other words, he preferred spotlights on the feel and culture of the city to stale accounts of politics and economics.

A parent’s protectiveness, it seemed, was a beloved burden with no end.

“Yes, yes. You’ll be fine,” she said. “But will you be happy?”