Golden Valley, my contribution to Professor Marjorie Evasco's Frestschrift

I had the honor of contributing to a Festschrift for Prof. Marjorie Evasco. I wrote a short story entitled Golden Valley to honor an incredibly generous, gracious, and remarkable person.

Not far from where she lives is the edge of town, where the houses are far in between. On Friday afternoons, she takes a twenty-minute walk. Her only son, a doctor in another city, told her this was good exercise. The road is uphill, lined by old acacia trees that filter the sun. She hums to the tune of “Trust and Obey.” After passing the Carmelite convent, she takes the narrow side road to the left, marked by the crumbling sign, “Golden Valley, 500 meters away.” From there, the incline becomes progressively steeper. She pants for air, stops under the shade to drink from her water bottle, then proceeds as she has done religiously since he passed away.