"Rudolph! Are you coming? We're going to be late..." "I'm coming, Mom. Where are we going?" "We're going to visit Mara the Witch." Rudolph stuck his nose out of the bushes, glanced at the vast ... [+]
"For even saintly folk will act like sinners / unless they have their customary dinners."
Bertolt Brecht, The Threepenny Opera
We decide to celebrate the Fourth of July at Parker's Dam. There's not much to celebrate. JJ's been laid off at the railroad yard, and there's only enough food left for the kids' breakfast. I'd go to the Salvation Army for help, but today's a holiday.
Chris and Rosebud sit at the table, wiping the last of the bread against the sides of the almost-empty jelly jar. If we go to the lake, I remind them, there's nothing for a picnic lunch.
"That's okay," Chris say