A Southern Reader Volume I

Catfishing; Three country men of childhood friendship gather at the creek to catfish and tell tall tales. One of the men is constantly badgered and picked on by his companions, but on that particular night he tells them a story that leaves his bullying companions almost speechless. Emily; In London during WW2 a young GI meets a beautiful English girl who has lost both her parents due to the war. They fall in love. She has a young brother with a mental and physical handicap. She has promised her father she will always look after him and never leave England. They try to find a solution to their problem. She reads him a verse of poetry when they are together then gives him the other verse later. Elodie; A young woman comes of age during the 2nd WW. She is from a very poor family. The father is abusive and controlling. She meets a boy who has been visited by a man with supernatural powers, who intercedes on their behalf. Headache.; A young country couple has tyheir fisrt child and unfortunately it has downs syndrome. The wife is a nurse. The husband becomes an alcoholic. His wife places acetaminophen in his drinks and he slowly dies of cirrohosis of the liver. She marries another drunk and the same thing happens. She meets her third husband who is also a drunk but he treats her with respect and close attention. She cautions him about taking pain killers and drinking alcohol at the same time. Unfortunately he also dies if the same ailment. She is very confused by the turn of events and is shocked when the autopsy report is returned. Heart of the matter; A young enthusiastic farm boy has been spreading rumors about a farmers daughter that are false. To punish him the boy is invited to a barn curing one evening while the father sits around the corner hoping to catch him bragging about his imaginary conquests. The Vietnam Vet. A Vietnam vet has trouble adjusting, divorces his wife quits his job and sets out on a journey of self discovery. He finds there is nothing to discover so returns to the farm he was brought up on where he is treated with a less than welcoming attitude by his sister. He has a jolting relationship with a woman whose husband was only four days past buried. The relationship presents him with a solution to his problem that pleases no one but him.