2nd Blog Response

          The short story packet is by far more amusing and more understandable than Fluorescence. The short stories are also very impressive. I have always found it hard to try and write a full story that had everything I wanted to say in it on less than a page. Some of my favorite short stories in the packet are the Mystery Stories by Sharon Krinsky.
          Each one of the mystery stories are less than a paragraph. Despite the short length each one tells a story and leaves you wondering. Each of the stories is its own little riddle that gives you clues but doesn't give you the answer which forces you to think about the solution outside the box. The stories make you want to keep reading to find out what happens next, but there is nothing else which leaves you to fill in the rest of the story however you want. My favorite story of hers is "The Japanese Man" the story talks about a old sad man singing about his fortune and that the narrator has a dream that he is that man and wakes up crying in the dream but not it real life. To me the story tells us about a man that is sad but suppresses his feelings. When he sees the man on the road and later dreams about him that night his feelings are allowed to be expressed but as soon as he wakes up he represses them again.
          I also read the short story "Survivors" by Kim Addonizo. The story is about two men that seem to be in a relationship that is implied but never solidified by the narrator. The two men in the story appear to be ill and affected by a disease. The narrator mention T cells which leads me to believe he is talking about AIDS. The narrator talks about the barriers that they have had to overcome because of their sexual orientation, like family trouble and societal issues. Maybe the narrator does not solidify their relationship because he in some ways feels that he has not accepted it. He talks about letting his partner's parrot fly free which also might symbolize his freedom that death brings and at the end he would rather die than be alone without his partner. I find these stories interesting because even though they are short they give you a glimpse of a deeper more engaging story that the reader creates.
          I also found the short story called "The Colonel" by Carolyn Forche was interesting. The story seems to be set in a house that is located somewhere that speaks Spanish. The story talks about bared windows and broken glass on the floor and the colonel eating lamb with a glass of wine which makes me think he is a colonel of a drug cartel. He brings out a bag of ears which could be from rival members that he or his men have dispatched. I also like the word usage in this short story like when the narrator says "He spilled the human ears on the table. They were like dried peach halves." I would have never thought to use those words when thinking about severed ears. The story also makes you think about what happened before this dinner and who the men are and where they are going after.
          Overall these short stories allowed me to imagine a much larger and grander story than the one that was actually written. That is why these short stories are amusing. They force you to create your own past and future that coincides with the glimpse of the world the author gives you. You are allowed to create your own begining and your own end for the characters which makes you connect personally with each of the stories.