Dad’s plan to rejuvenate the lawn by dumping sand on it cuts back on the amount of time Frankie gets to spend with Jennifer.

(from One Story, issue number 53)

On one level, this is the story of a boy learning that his siblings are right about dad; he’s kind of a loser. I mean, you feel bad for him. Maybe he’s a good guy on a bad streak. You want grass to start popping up from the sand, but it won’t happen. The hits just keep on coming. This is also a story of a kid learning about disease and independence, and those parts are expertly arranged through the filter of a kid’s limited understanding. A memorable and fun read.
There’s an interview with Patrick Ryan here. It should be noted that once in a while at work I receive mail addressed to Patrick Ryan, because people can’t remember my name and they figure, hey, close enough. I figured I’d give you a link to Mr. Ryan’s site, to direct some of my formidable web traffic his way. Least I can do since I’ve been rifling through his mail the last few years. Couldn’t find a homepage, mostly because there seem to be a lot of Patrick Ryans out there. Or maybe there’s only one, and the rest are typos.