a fictional note about the barbecue

Jim invites you and a few of the other dads on the block to watch Sunday football at his house and eat barbecue. You discuss the importance of a good offensive line with one dad and begin to suspect he has a urinary tract infection. He searches your eyes for recognition, but now you deny him.

Later in life, the doctor, nurse, physician's assistant, medical technician, nurse practitioner, and the patient himself watch his dark urine course through the tubing.

something about the mentor

You could say there was something pitiful about her. And, superficially, you wouldn't be wrong. She had these big, scared eyes (the right one maybe popped in a little lower than the left). Under different circumstances, you might have wondered if she was in shock—those eyes always wide, reflective, lacking presence, suggesting vulnerability. She spoke aimlessly, ceaselessly. In groups, she ticked her head like a chicken and registered each person's face, seeking approval there.