The Editors dedicate this issue of Straitjackets Magazine to our friend, fellow editor, and author, JoLynne Buehring. We miss you, Jo.
CONTEST WINNER
Oh snap. Everyone must be at this pool party—there were no submissions.
FALL WRITING CONTEST
Be creative! Write a story inspired by this photo.
FACING FLACO by Daniel Kuttner
“Let’s take this outside.” Flaco gestured toward my car. “You’re gonna see how I maintain respect.”
SUMMER HAIKU by Valerie Eitzen
Sparklers and fireflies …
THE CLOTHESLINE'S WISDOM by Susan Mendez
Someone washed the clothes last night
And washed the red ones with the white!
TOO MUCH "T" IN TAHOE by Connie Jameson
The “T” in Tahoe was testosterone.
AFTER THE FERRY MAN by Jackie Levin
After burying my guinea pig in the backyard, my dad leaned the shovel against the willow and
took my small hand into his big one.
MY LIFETIMES THROUGH THE ZODIAC by Cheryl McGuire
What if our stories do not begin and do not end in a single lifetime?
HENRY SAMPSON: FINDER OF WRONGDOING by Howard Feigenbaum (aka H.F. Jefferson)
Fifteen minutes ago Fitzroy Samson had extended his bail until the next hearing date.
TIMMY by Vicki Allen-Hitt
“Timmy is the worst.”
THE FRINGES OF SAN BERNARDINO BASIN by Rand William
In prolonged baritones beneath my sleep
chords from tires drone against the roadbed
A DAGGER FOR MY HUSBAND by Brenda Hill
… sitting at the table with my coffee, I planned his demise.
THANK YOU, MR. EMERSON by Gerald Berns
If flowers and blossoms and citrus trees and fruit could sing, which they can …
THE VALLEY by Greg Porterfield
… the otherwise darkened street is illuminated by lights at the Botanica Mistica.
FRAGILE BEAUTY by Tim Riter
The fragile beauty
of the wildflower
in rainbow colors
Cover Art by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Desire Dehau Reading a Newspaper in the Garden
by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec