A 16 minute read. Note: this is a fictional story. A fifteen foot U-haul with Wisconsin plates was bumping along South McKinney Street in the fading sunlight. The road was ancient, but a complete repaving wasn’t in the town budget. So it looked somewhat like a crazy quilt, with certain patches higher than others andContinue reading “The Hillman Apartments”
Author Archives: Ellen Sheehy
Other People’s Choices
a poem Beyond the window where I sitthree banners flythe illustrious red white and bluelit from behind by the evening sunthe tasteful green and goldof our beloved Universityand the sky-colored rectangle of South Dakotathat some idiot thought would be recognizable becauseeveryone can see a smelting furnace anda man plowing with draft horses anda herd ofContinue reading “Other People’s Choices”
Standing Alone
I stood alone in the front entry, staring at the black hole created by the front door. Yellow lamplight made triangles on the walls, but I could hardly see them. Images from the day flashed through my head: my family standing around the piano singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” my dad’s favorite EasterContinue reading “Standing Alone”
What is Honor? An Analysis of “In Pharaoh’s Army”
My brother and I are very similar. I am four years older than him, but our birthdays are only three days apart. We both are very skinny and have trouble finding pants that will stay up on their own. We both like to talk. We are practically the same height (for a few weeks, atContinue reading “What is Honor? An Analysis of “In Pharaoh’s Army””
Life Advice from Hamlet?
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is full of life advice: Listen to freaky evil ghosts, they tell the truth. Check behind the curtains before you poke whoever is back there with your sword (you will have fewer people wanting to kill you). If you want to murder someone, pretend to be insane. ListenContinue reading “Life Advice from Hamlet?”
The PSAT Changed My Life
My life changed the day that I took the PSAT. It wasn’t because I earned an unprecedented score and won a scholarship, or because I earned an abominable score and decided I would clean hotels for the rest of my life, but because I checked the box that asked, can we share your information withContinue reading “The PSAT Changed My Life”
Not Just Fire and Brimstone
Jonathan Edwards is best known for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In it, he harped on God’s judgement of sinners. The sermon had a big impact; Edwards couldn’t even finish when he preached it in Enfield, Connecticut, because his audience was screaming, crying out, and fainting. Because of that sermon,Continue reading “Not Just Fire and Brimstone”
Belonging and Unspoken Rules
In the movie Wonder, the main character, August, seemed like a normal person—until you saw his face. Because of certain genes he had inherited from his parents, he didn’t grow right, and even after plastic surgery his face was grossly deformed. As a result, many people shunned him and kept their distance. August didn’t fitContinue reading “Belonging and Unspoken Rules”
The Essential Vice
Pride, according to Stuart Scott, is “The mindset of self… a focus on self and the service of self, a pursuit of self-recognition and self-exaltation, and a desire to control and use all things for self” (179). C.S. Lewis describes it as “the complete anti-God state of mind” (94). We’re being prideful when we don’tContinue reading “The Essential Vice”
The Truth About Henry VIII
Henry VIII is one of those kings to most people. He is widely known as the fat old king who had a lot of wives. There are a lot of things out there about him: novels, movies, songs, magazine articles, tall tales, you name it—it’s out there. But very little truth is known about “BluffContinue reading “The Truth About Henry VIII”
Ellen Sheehy 