WINNERS OF THE MONTECITO JOURNAL
THOM STEINBECK CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST 2ND PLACE by JC O’Brien
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I
never thought I could be so wrong. I mean, don’t misunderstand me…. I have been wrong a number of times before. And that number is two. (1) ”I can handle that cuz I have a stomach of steel” and, 2) “That doesn’t look like herpes.”) But when it comes to family? I know my facts from my fake news. For example, I knew my brother’s marriage would not last two consecutive minor holidays. I also knew my mother’s “water bottle” contained a liquid that can be made into a hand sanitizer, long before she began meeting her friends weekly in the church basement. I have always been my family’s finder-of-missing-truths. A final infidelity. (“Dad, what’s that bruise on your neck?”) A desperate Nigerian Prince. (“Grandma, why are you only eating Ramen?”) A shopping problem. (“Honnnneyyy, you said you paid the utility bill this month, right?”) But aside from my wife’s aforementioned bout of consumeritis, I have been 100 percent confident that my adult life was safe. Predictable. One might even say…colorless. I am an attorney like my dad. A planner like my dad. A small-town person like my dad. I even have my dad’s uncomfortable sense of humor. I always chalked it up to the generations of Irish pain that fermented the strands of my DNA. That is until my wife gave me 23and Me as a Christmas gift. I was sure my dad WAS my dad. I never thought I could be so wrong. •MJ
3RD PLACE
by Richard Renaldo
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4TH PLACE by David Figueras
People Sitting In Cars
“I never knew I could be so wrong…” “Is this about Livi?” “Of course it’s about that.” “Oh, I think you knew.” “What do you mean by that?” “Knew that you could be so wrong, I think you knew.” “That’s ridiculous!” “I love when you act surprised by your own behavior.” “I don’t know anyone else who talks to their mother like this.” “You did... but she left.” “She was just sitting in her car…” “For four hours.” “Why does she do that?” “You could have gone out and talked to her.” “I just thought she was going to just sit out there like she does.” “And... now, she’s gone.” “ I just want to know that she’s ok or coming back or somewhere good and safe.” “She might. She has nowhere else to go.” 2 – 9 April 2020
never knew I could be so wrong because I am a wise guy, you know the type – always right. I have a lifetime of anticipating worse case scenarios. It’s in my nature to keep well stocked – always has been. That’s why I shrugged off the tp panic. I knew that I had several months’ supply locked in a closet at a short-term rental we operate. So when my wife Dee remarked that we were low on tp, I felt like a certain ‘50s western television character riding to the rescue, getting into my black and white pickup to drive downtown. It was a different ‘50s television sitcom character that returned home with the news that someone had nicked our supply. Dee put her hand to her mouth saying, “Oh, I left the closet door open because we were gone and I didn’t want the guests to run out.” No blame, no anger just a sick realization we were in trouble. Indeed, my first search was fruitless. Now, I have had a prejudice against big box stores and I never patronize them… never. So it was Dee who discovered when WalMart received shipments and showed up at 6 am so she could be one of the few to scarf a twenty roll package. She returned home triumphant… her victory, my loss. “How did you know?” I asked. She replied, “You have always said there is a difference between wisdom and intelligence.” •MJ
“It’s making me crazy.” “That’s a new development?” “Don’t be a smart ass.” “I’m sorry Mom... everything is just off right now, all of it.” “I just want her home.” “ Tell you what I’ll do... I’ll go down to the Friendly Market. She buys cigarettes there. She might be there just sitting in her car.” “I would be so happy if she is there. I can’t just sit and wait.” “Keep your phone close. I’ll call when I get there.” “ That would be great if she’s there... and Clyde, can you get a couple cans of peaches, if they have them.” “I’ll see what they have left.” “Thank you, Clyde.” “She’ll be there Mom, don’t you worry anymore.” •MJ
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
49
