Turbula
Volume II, Issue I Spring 2003

Fiction

It wasn't so much a wager as a challenge. The old woman was undeniably
Old Lady at Dobson's, by Charlene Baldridge
Old Woman at Dobson's,
by Charlene Baldridge

In this issue:

intriguing. The severe countenance. The formal dress. Her entire mien bespoke a story that needed telling.

And so Jacqueline Zhang and Jim Trageser challenged each other to write a story based on a few stolen glances taken of another diner at Paul Dobson's fine restaurant in downtown San Diego. Jackie made the point that the woman looked like someone from a Degas – and thus two very different character illustrations were born, yet both involving a reference to the painter.

C harlene Baldridge, our featured poet this month, contributed some wonderful pencil drawings to accomapny the stories.

Dan McClenaghan is back with his third Loma Alta story for Turbula, once again featuring the legendary if mythical short-order cook Ellis Leahy. (If this is your first visit to Turbula, be sure to visit our Fiction index for more installments of the Loma Alta chronicles.)

meranda Blue contributes her story, "Recovery." It's sad, covering as it does a couple's emotional battle to regain intimacy after the wife's rape. But it's also a beautifully drawn story, finding hope and tenderness in the aftermath of violence. Due to its storyline, parts of it are by necessity sexually frank, and we ask that you only read her story if you are of a legal age to read such materials.




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