Discombobulated
Collected Short Stories
by
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When Tony Radstrom was seventeen years old, he had the kind of adventure young men dream of. Working a part-time job delivering bottled waters, he brought around the big ten gallon demijohns. It was a heavy burden, but Tony was a strong fellow. He’d roll the dolly up to the houses, detach the empty bottles, and attach the new ones in the stand. He rarely had contact with the customers. On one occasion, however, the lady of the house came to the door. She summoned him in. Tony, a pleasant young man by any measure, always polite and affable, stood uncertainly by the door, looking circumspectly toward the toes of his shoes. He could not help but notice that the woman was blonde, attractive, elaborately made-up, and quite voluptuous.
“I think I may be due to pay you,” she said. Mrs. Lowell her name was. At least, Lowell was the name on the door.
“Oh, that’s okay, Ma’am,” Tony said agreeably. “You can send it in. Or pay next time.”
“Come in a minute,” she said rather abruptly.
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About the Book
Reflecting experiences gained while teaching in England, Italy, Korea, and Turkey, author Katherine Baccaro presents an eclectic collection of twenty-four short stories. The tales delve into one family’s dysfunction, the difficulties of dating in Manhattan, and the mysteries of love.
Discombobulated explores a variety of everyday themes and pulls on human emotions. In “Borborygmus,” the prim and proper thirty-seven- year-old Dermot McGreevy feels humiliated when he develops an embarrassing ailment. In “The Department of Nosology,” two thirteen-year- old girls suffer the consequences after they begin cataloging the noses of the townspeople. “The Census” explores the feelings of tourists in Turkey as they learn they will be banished to their hotel room for a day while the country conducts its census.
From the comic to the sad, from real life to imagined landscapes, and from nostalgia and memories to suppositions and lies, Discombobulated offers a diverse collection of stories offering insight into the human condition.
About the Author
KATHERINE BACCARO graduated from Brown University and taught school in England, Italy, Korea, and Turkey. Now retired, Baccaro paints and writes. She lives in the Sonora Desert with her cats. Visit her online at www.baccarobooks.com.