One Saturday afternoon, strains of music reached up to Franny’s window, open an inch or so on the unseasonably warm late February day. The sound created a welcome distraction from the student papers she was trying to finish grading, forty-odd essays all grinding through the same assigned topic, and Franny closed her laptop to listen. A … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 21

A clear Sunday morning as January prepared to turn itself into February lured Franny to the window. She opened it a crack and smelled spring in the air. Although it was cold, hovering around freezing, the sun shone brightly in a pale blue sky, melting snow where its beams landed. The sky seemed taken over … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 20 (Reboot)

A college town has its share of bars and taverns. Leo found himself at the door of the one that sat at the crossroads of the older highway that formed the entrance to the town before the interstate bullied its way through. It was housed in a small building, smaller than most of the new … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 19 (Reboot)

We meet Kassandra the barista, who is happy one of her regulars has a new friend.

We remember meeting Kassandra for the first time.

Memories of Franny's early impressions of Pine Street.

We remember the way Franny and Marilyn became fast friends, which included a mural of a giant squid.

Memories and music from the first year of Pine Street.

The music thing turned out to be a birthday party for a friend of the art professor’s, held in the large banquet room of a local hotel. Franny heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of the art professor’s wonderful gray hair and red glasses. Someone to talk to, at least, she thought, as … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 12 (Reboot)