by Mike O’Mary

In honor of Thanksgiving, and in honor of the publication of MFA in a Box by my friend, John Rember, today’s post is a (mostly) true story called “John’s Thanksgiving.”

John’s Thanksgiving

My best friend, John, will probably be mad at me for telling this story. But it’s such a great Thanksgiving story, I can’t resist.

This happened many years ago, during John’s first year of college. He had gone East from Idaho in order to attend a prestigious university. And now that his first school vacation—the Thanksgiving holiday—was at hand, he had decided to remain out East rather than travel back to Idaho to be with his family. He had some friends at school, but most of them had gone home for the holidays.

So come Thanksgiving Day, John woke up in a deserted dormitory building. That in itself would be enough to depress many people. Waking up alone on Thanksgiving Day. But he got up, got dressed and was doing fine. Until he called home to talk to his family members… Continue reading John’s Thanksgiving →