The Lexicographer's Rules

"When I'm alone, I wander the house. Ellen handled the finances, so I have no idea whether we've paid the bills. Until the collectors call. One asks when I'll get the car payment in. 'I'm sorry, my wife's in a coma...' The woman cuts me off. 'Sir, I'll read the contract to you.' 'Did you hear me?' I say. 'My wife's in a coma. If you call again I'll pour gasoline on the car and set it on fire.'"

—Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Jon Tevlin writes a moving multipart story about his wife, Ellen, and her affliction with Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome. "Then one night, late, I can't sleep, so I go back to the hospital. I do something really mean, something I will regret, but if Ellen can hear me, maybe it will make her fight even harder. I lean over the bed and take her hand. 'Ellen, if you die,' I say, 'I don't want to live. I won't live.' Then I go home and play the Pogues' 'Living in a World Without Her.' I turn it up so loud that it wakes my in-laws."'

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?