Happy Hanukkah

 

חנוכה שמח 

Hanukkah Sameach

Happy Hanukkah

It's a grim time still, with more than 100 Israelis still held hostage by Hamas, among them a baby who is by now a toddler (if she's still alive). 

But after darkness, light. 

And the people of Israel still live. 

Am Yisrael Chai. עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי

To everyone who celebrates it: Merry Christmas!

And may you have a wonderful holiday season!

We have seven classes starting in January and most still have at least one or two spots

Intensive Creative Writing

Offered online at 3 different times:

Wednesday afternoons, 12:30 – 3:00

Jan 15 – Feb 26 (or to March 5 if the class fills up). First readings emailed Jan 8. (We still have 2 spots in the Wednesday afternoon class; email to snag one!)

Tuesday evenings 6:30 – 9:00
Jan 14 –March 4. First readings emailed Jan 7. (This class is probably full. But plans change, so if you’re interested in signing up, email me.)

Friday mornings 10:00 – 12:30
Jan 17 –March 7. First readings emailed Jan 10. (This class is probably full. But plans change, so if you’re interested, email me.)

Intensive Creative Writing isn't for beginners; it's for people who are working on their own writing projects. You’ll be asked to bring in several pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand-alone pieces, such as short stories or essays. You bring whatever you want to work on. 

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures addressing the needs of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Fee: $256.64 + hst = $290

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

“Writing Picture Books – Intensive”

Online: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Jan 15 –March 5. First readings emailed Jan 8.  (We still have 1 spot in this class; email me to reserve it!)

This Intensive course will be organized like my other Intensive courses, but it’s for people writing picture books. You’ll be asked to bring in four pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. This may be four separate picture book manuscripts or, possibly, just one, reworked four times. You bring whatever you want to work on. 

Besides critiquing pieces, we’ll have discussions and I’ll give short talks addressing the needs of the group. You’ll receive constructive suggestions about your writing, learn how to critique your own work, ands you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write.

I expect you’ll find this course extremely rewarding – and fun. After all, we’re working on picture books! ~Brian

Fee: $247.79 + hst = $280

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

“(Not so) Extreme Creative Writing”

 ~ For more experienced writers 

In-person: Thursday afternoons, 12:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Jan 16 – Feb 26 (Or to March 5 if the class fills up). First readings emailed Jan 9.
Burlington Anglican Lutheran Church, 3455 Lakeshore Rd, Burlington, Ontario (Map here)
(We still have 1 or 2 spots in this class; email me to snag one!)

Extreme Creative Writing isn't like an extreme sport – it doesn't demand something crazy – but it is meant for writers who have been writing for a while or who have done a course or two before and are working on their own projects.

You’ll be asked to bring in a few pieces of your writing for detailed feedback, including a couple longish pieces. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand-alone pieces, such as essays, picture book manuscripts, or short stories. You bring whatever you want to work on. 

Besides critiquing pieces, we’ll have discussions on topics of interest to the class. In addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Fee: $256.64 + hst = $290

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

“Writing Personal Stories”

Online: Tuesday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m.
January 14 – March 4
(This class is probably full. But plans change, so if you’re interested in signing up, email me.)

If you've ever considered writing your personal stories, this course is for you. We’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal essays, family history – personal stories of all kinds. Plus, of course, we’ll work on creativity and writing technique and have fun doing it. 

Whether you want to write a book or just get your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going. We'll reveal the tricks and conventions of telling true stories, and we’ll show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Weekly writing exercises and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family and friends or for a wider public, don't miss this course.

We’ll also have a published author as a guest speaker for this course.

Fee: $220.35 plus 13% hst = $259

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

“Writing Personal Stories & Other Nonfiction”

In-person: Thursday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m.
Jan 23 – Feb 27 (Or to March 6 if the class is full)
Burlington Anglican Lutheran Church, 3455 Lakeshore Rd, Burlington, Ontario (Map here)
(Still lots of space in this class, but please sign up soon – it starts in less than a month.)

If you want to write any kind of true story, this course is for you. Personal stories will be front and centre – we’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal essays, family history – but we’ll also look at writing feature articles, creative nonfiction and other more informational writing. Plus, of course, we’ll work on creativity and writing technique and have fun doing it. 

Whether you want to write a book or just get your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going. We'll reveal the tricks and conventions of telling true stories, and we’ll show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Weekly writing exercises and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family and friends or for a wider public, don't miss this course.

Fee: $212.39 plus 13% hst = $240

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University (now called Toronto Metropolitan University) and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 

Read pieces about ~ or inspired by ~ Brian's retreats, courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day retreats here.

"Trudeau ponders his political belly button while "antizionists" shoot up a school" by Brian Henry

December 21, 2024

For the third time, a school for little girls in Toronto has been shot up. Why? Because the girls who go to Beit Chaya Mushka Elementary are Jewish.

And what’s our Prime Minister doing? He’s wholly consumed with holding on to power. It’s not just the opposition, most of the Liberal caucus are calling for his resignation. He says he’s “reflecting on his political future.” Should he stay or should he go?

Things were bad enough a month ago. While our Prime Minister fiddled the night away at a Taylor Swift concert, Montreal burned. In anti-Jewish riots, “pro-Palestinians” torched cars, smashed storefront windows, and attacked police officers (here). Why? Because, they feel, Canada and NATO aren’t not doing their part in the sacred war to wipe Israel off the map.

Yes, I know, this supposedly makes them antizionists, not antisemites. I’ve been told specifically and personally by the Jew-haters – sorry, Zionist-haters – who show up every Sunday at the intersection of Bathurst and Sheppard, in the heart of Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhood, that they don’t hate Jews, just Zionists.

So, we need not worry about the little girls at that Jewish school. They deserved having their school shot at. Because not only are they Jewish, but those little girls, their parents, and their teachers are all Zionists. Indeed, ninety percent of Jews in Canada are Zionists, and among Jews who care about being Jewish, that percentage is much higher.

For that matter, about 80% of all Canadians are Zionists, because Zionism is simply the belief that Israel has a right to go on existing, and the Jews and others who live there have the right to go on living.

This is not what our “antizionists” believe. Last month, one of the Bathurst and Sheppard protesters came dressed up as Yahya Sinwar (killed by Israel in October). This is very like showing up in a Jewish neighbourhood dressed up as your hero, Hitler.

At Bathurst and Sheppard, man on chair dressed as Yahya Sinwar. Another man holds a sign with an inverted red triangle – the sign used by Hamas to designate people they want to kill and which has spread worldwide to become the contemporary equivalent of a swastika. And a woman holding sign reading: “Free flights to Amsterdam” – where thousands of thugs had recently led “Jew hunts” through the streets (here). — Source: Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (here).

Sinwar was the Hamas leader who masterminded the terrorist assault of October 7. The man who ordered the mass slaughter or kidnapping of every Israeli the invaders could find – man, woman, and child. The man who ordered a campaign of mass torture and of mass rape and sexual mutilation. The man who ordered it all filmed for the delight of fellow “antizionists” and the horror of the victims’ friends and family.

This was the man whom Palestinians – not Israelis, but Palestinians – nicknamed the Butcher of Khan Yunis for the many, many Palestinians he had tortured and executed because he suspected them of collaborating with Israel.

This is the man who masterminded the war between Hamas and Israel, in which Hamas’s entire defensive strategy has been to burrow beneath the cities of Gaza, to embed themselves within hospitals, schools, and mosques, and to hide weapons or tunnel entrances in half the homes in Gaza – in short to make it impossible to get at Hamas without going through civilians.

This is the man who is a hero to the “antizionists” among us.

And what has been our government’s policy? Why to occasionally tweet its concern and to declare that Israel has a right to defend itself against those who would gleefully film themselves murdering all the Jews on the planet. But our government’s policy is also apparently that Israelis must defend themselves with their bare hands, because our government also forbids arms sales to Israel.

Antizionist gives Nazi salute at Montreal riot, says, "Final solution is coming."
Videos of Montreal riots here.

In an interview for CTV, former NDP leader Thomas Mulcair put it to our Foreign Affairs Minister, Mélanie Jolie, that the government’s policy was incomprehensible. Her reply? “Thomas, have you seen the demographics of my riding?” (here).

Mulcair wrote: “I was astonished to hear such a candid admission that very local politics were playing such a role in shaping Canada’s foreign policy on this highly complex and sensitive issue.”

Of course, it’s not just Jolie’s riding. The Liberals can count. They know that among people for whom the issue might move their vote, Hamas supporters greatly outnumber Israel supporters, especially in urban and suburban ridings where the Liberals must get re-elected if they hope to escape being wiped out in the next election.

This accounts for why Trudeau supports anti-Israel fictions and policies that play into Hamas’s war aims – so much so that Hamas has publicly thanked him for his support (here). Trudeau hopes to buy the votes of the Zionist-haters. And if this results in encouraging these “antizionists” to shoot up a school for little girls? Ah well, he has far more important things to consider, such as his future!

Should he go?

Yes, please!

***

For more on the danger we face, see here.

This piece was originally published on the CanadianZionist Forum.

Read more of my pieces here (and scroll down). ~Brian

You're invited to “Writing Kid Lit” with guest Patricia Ocampo, senior editor at Kids Can Press

Mortified by Kristy Jackson a finalist
for the Governor General's Prize
this year ~ yay, Kristy!

“Writing for Children and for Young Adults”

 ~ with guest Patricia Ocampo, senior editor at Kids Can Press

Saturday, March 1, 2025
 1:15 – 5:00 p.m.
Online via Zoom and accessible wherever there’s Internet

If you want to write the next best-selling children’s books or just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn how to write stories kids and young adults will love and find out what you need to know to sell your book.

This is your chance to speak with someone within a publishing company in a small group setting and to pull back the curtain and see how it all works. Be sure to bring your questions – we'll have lots of time for interaction.

Special option: Participants are invited to submit the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel (or up to 800 words if that gets you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter). Email your pages to me prior to our workshop.

Patricia and I will publicly critique about half a dozen submissions so everyone can see what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve your story-telling. Get your pages in early if you want to be part of this. If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started! ~Brian

Guest speaker Patricia Ocampo is a Senior Editor at Kids Can Press. Since 1973, Kids Can has published award-winning, best-selling books for young readers, including The Most Magnificent Thing and the Franklin the Turtle series.

Patricia acquires books for children and tweens, both fiction and nonfiction. She has a particular interest in laugh-out-loud stories – she’s forever looking for the next Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging – and unique approaches to nonfiction.

Patricia has worked at HarperCollins, Annick Press, and Simon and Schuster. She was also a literary agent at Transatlantic Agency. Patricia served five years on the International Board on Books for Young People, including two years as president of the Canadian chapter. She teaches a course on editing books for children at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Chang School of Continuing Education.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor, author, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers and is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published.

Read reviews and reflections on Brian’s retreats, classes and workshops here.

Fee: $45.13 + 13% hst = $51 paid in advance by mail or Interac

To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day retreats here.

“Now is the worst time of the year to query an agent or publisher” by Brian Henry

Now is the worst time of the year to query an agent or publisher

~ But it’s the best time to plan your strategy

So, it’s Christmas break and you plan to finish your novel, polish your query letter, and with New Year’s coming up fast, you’re full of resolution to land yourself an agent this year. Wonderful. But hold up. Right now is the worst time of the year to query an agent.

You want to avoid querying an agent when:

      -         She’s not in the office

      -         She is in the office but not working

      -         She’s trying to get work out of the way before going on holiday

      -         She’s crazy busy 

So, forget sending queries during the holiday season. Starting near the beginning of December, the publishing world begins shutting down. Yes, agents and editors are still in the office, but they’re trying to clear their desks before the holidays start. The last thing they want is to look at queries.  

As Christmas gets closer, less and less work gets done, and agents are disinclined to pitch your manuscript anyway, because they know that editors at publishing houses are doing just as little work; they’re more likely to be sipping eggnog than looking at new manuscripts.

Then from Christmas to New Year’s, odds are no one’s even in the office. Come January 2 (or the first Monday after New Year’s), agents are back in the office and discovering that the work hasn’t gone away. They have 967 emails cluttering their In Boxes, a pile of manuscripts they should really have read a couple weeks ago, and in general so much work that they (almost) regret taking time off.

Do they want to read queries now? Hardly. Give them a week (or maybe two) to get things under control again. But then! January is maybe one of the best times to query. Everyone's trying to turn over a new leaf – and for agents and editors that includes getting through their queries or slush pile and finding that fabulous new author who they're going to fall in love with.

And right now – during the Christmas lull – this is a great time to plan your campaign, to comb through the postings about agents on Quick Brown Fox {and there are other sites}, to make your lists of possible agents and preferred agents, or to decide which publishers you want to pitch, and to write targeted queries. 

You'll find all sorts of agents who are actively looking for authors here {and scroll down}; agents who are looking for kid lit, picture books to young adult, plus usually all sorts of other things here; and Canadian agents looking for authors here. (And see much more about finding agents looking for particular kinds of books here.) 

For information about publishers accepting unagented manuscripts see here {and scroll down}.

If you haven’t done so yet, trash your generic query and make a New Year’s resolution to write only personalized queries from now on – at least to those agents you’re particularly interested in. Because once the holidays are out of the way, this is an excellent time of year to query agents or submit to editors. Better than the fall, I think, which tends to be crazy busy in the publishing world. 

The very best time of the year to query is probably the summer, particularly August, when agents and editors aren't working so much to deadline. They may be on vacation, but for agents and editors, "vacation" means time to read queries and manuscripts, preferably with her feet up and a cool drink to hand. 

But do you want to wait six months before you start querying? I hope not. Also make plans to sharpen your writing skills. We have two writing retreats coming up in the new year: April 25 – 28 at Elm Hurst Inn & Spa (see here), and June 13 – 16  at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park (see here).

On Saturday, March 1, I'll be leading a fabulous workshop: “Writing for Children & for Young Adults” with Patricia Ocampo senior editor at Kids Can Press and a former literary agent, so she understands the publishing industry from a few angles. Details to come, but if you want to reserve a seat, email me at: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

But the best thing you can do for yourself as a writer might be to sign up for a weekly course. Check out all upcoming classes, workshops, and retreats here.

But what if you've been so busy sending out a flurry of queries that you haven't gotten around to reading this posting till New Year's Day?

Well, Don’t worry, be happy. A few agents and editors will have used the dead time in the publishing world to catch up on things – like reading queries. Some are extra dutiful and will get to your query eventually even if you sent it in December 24. As for the rest, give it a reasonable amount of time and re-query all agents and editors who haven’t sent you a reject. At least, that’s what I’d do.  –Brian

P.S. Still looking for the ideal present for yourself? Check out this list of 77+ Gifts for Writers here.

“The Corporation” by David Bennett

 

Belinda was like a diamond, George thought, looking at her from across the room: very beautiful but very, very hard. And she could cut just like a diamond.  As Belinda ascended through the ranks of the Corporation there were inevitably conflicts with those whose jobs she aspired to. She won them all. Her erstwhile rivals often disappeared completely, becoming corporate un-persons, their names never mentioned again.

One of many rumours about her was that she had secret political influence. Whatever the truth, once Belinda entered the ranks of the senior vice presidents, an aura of fear spread around her: not a good person to cross so people didn’t.

So why was he waiting for her as the conference room emptied out at the end of the meeting?

The simple answer was Belinda had asked him to.  And her requests were not to be denied, at least not by someone as junior to her as George was.

But the full truth was he would have waited for her anyway. Belinda was twelve years his senior but still attractive.  And this attractive woman was interested in him. Nothing public. She was far too sophisticated for that. But there had been a small, nearly invisible current of attraction, especially in those sudden smiles and very brief remarks, all of which were deliberately ambiguous, bestowed on him.

Finally, there were just the two of them left in the room. But engrossed in typing on a tablet Belinda didn’t seem to notice him. Perhaps a remark to remind her he was still here.

“I took the monorail this morning,” he said.

“And you were late this morning,” she said, not looking up from the tablet.

“Wow. How did you find that out?”

“I find out everything,” Belinda said, finally looking up. “I hope I’m not going to be disappointed in you. You’re an attractive young man – though don’t let it go to your head.  And you definitely have intelligence; no one gets the kind of marks you got in business school without being smart. But you’ve just done a dumb thing so I have to hope it’s a one-off.”

“Supporting the monorail is civic-minded.”

“Going anywhere near the monorail is dumb. It breaks down all the time. The thing is completely dysfunctional. As for being civic-minded, that’s just for appearances, as I hope you’ve fully realized by now. The Corporation exists for one, and only one, reason: to make money.”

“Are you telling me not to take it anymore?”

“I’m telling you to smarten up. Start acting like someone who’s bright enough to hang with me.”

Hang with her? That sounded like a definite proposition. Better show some enthusiasm.

“Yes,” he said, and smiled. “I’d like that.”

“That’s better,” Belinda said, smiling for the first time – a great contrast to her former and usual severe expression. She pushed her chair back, stood up, without smoothing down the dress that had ridden half way up her thighs, walked slowly over to him and sat down next to him. Belinda leaned over and put one finger tip on his knee. She added a second fingertip, a shade closer to his crotch. She passed him a business card.

“That’s the address,” she said. “Be there at eight. I know you like good wine and I have some very good vintages. And then we can do some other interesting things.”

The finger moved another fraction closer to his crotch with just a little more pressure

He opened his mouth to tell her how much he looked forward to the evening when he thought of Jackson, her young boyfriend.

“Sounds great,” he said. “I’m just hoping we won’t be interrupted, say by Jackson, for instance.”

“No, no one will interrupt us – least of all Jackson, who is no longer with us.”

“I didn’t know he’d left the company.”

“Jackson had an unfortunate accident, which is why he’s no longer here. Very sad, of course,” she said, not looking at all mournful.

“What happened?”

“He jumped off his balcony. He’d apparently been suicidal for a while, which is why you haven’t seen him around the office. I guess he had a nervous breakdown.”

George remembered Jackson. They had both worked in the same office and would sometimes go out for drinks after work. One boozy evening, after they’d both had far too many margueritas, Jackson let it slip he had a relationship with Belinda, wanted to break it off but was afraid to.

“She’s pressuring me not to go back,” he said, without specifying where Belinda wanted him not to go back to. “It’s all we talk about now. That and her non stop threats. It’s all becoming too much.”

George had told him to keep quiet about it and after that they had by unspoken but common consent veered away from the subject of Belinda.

Jackson committed suicide. Jesus!  This gave him a whole new perspective on Belinda. What the hell was with that?  Jackson was worried and maybe a bit afraid. But he didn’t seem that depressed. Of course, George didn’t know him that well so maybe things were going on with Jackson’s psyche that he didn’t – and in fact, couldn’t – know. Perhaps. Still, the news unsettled him.

“That must have been right after your trip to Turkey,” he said to Belinda.

“Listen,” she said, “I have to go. Appointments and so on. So, see you this evening?”

He was being dismissed. “Absolutely,” he said, getting up to leave.

He was deep in thought during his walk back to his office. Most disquieting was Jackson’s suicide. But something else was competing for his attention. Why was he thinking about Belinda’s trip to Turkey? 

Then he remembered. There had been a brief mention in the news, which was not pursued, about the Corporation being involved in an alleged bribery. Belinda’s name had not been mentioned. The article had mentioned “a junior manager” as someone the Turks had wanted to talk to, but apparently, this junior manager had already left Turkey. 

Could this have been Jackson?  And even if it was, how, if at all, did this have anything to do with Jackson’s suicide?  George didn’t know the answer to either question but he had a feeling – a very uneasy feeling – that they did.

When he got back to his office he phoned the manager of the Turkey project. The manager liked George and had even tried to get him to come and work on the project. So it only took a few minutes of seemingly casual questions to elicit that, yes, Jackson had accompanied Belinda to Turkey as her assistant and that they both had left Turkey very suddenly in the middle of negotiations.

Allegedly, it was because Belinda had, as the press release put it, “pressing health issues,” though she seemed well enough when she got back to the office.

It was, he thought, all he needed to know. The conclusions forced themselves upon him, despite efforts not to think about them. So, given what he now knew, what to do about his evening date with Belinda? 

He couldn’t think of an excuse not to go that wouldn’t antagonize her. And lurking underneath, although he told himself he was a fool to feel any such thing, was his desire for Belinda, unextinguished by his new discoveries. Besides, given her obvious attraction to him, how nasty would she be to him?

There was a concierge at her building, a slightly disdainful Englishman. “You’re not in the book,” he said as though this was a serious offence. “I’ll have phone up.”

“You’re early,” she said when she came to the phone. “I’m still on the treadmill. So give me a couple of minutes, okay?”  This turned out to be nearly ten minutes.

After Belinda finally called back to let him in the concierge suddenly announced: “You have to be wanded before you can go up.”

“It’s just a social call,” George said. “She knows me.”

“No wand, no admittance,” said the unsmiling concierge, standing up from his desk.

After the wanding, conducted very thoroughly, George rode up on the elevator to Belinda’s penthouse suite. When she opened the door, he beheld something that looked like Versailles or the Summer Palace, all white and gold and enormous.

Belinda was still wearing the same business suit she had worn at the office. So much for the treadmill.

“Follow me,” she said, her tone curt and her expression unsmiling. She led him into a pantry off the kitchen. This was not, George thought, where you would receive guests, especially the romantic kind.

“The manager of the Turkey project called me. He said you’d called him.”

“Yes, I called him this afternoon a few minutes after I left you.”  No point in denying it.

“What fucking business is it of yours what I did in Turkey or who I was there with?”  The swear words surprised him. He had never heard her talk like this before.

“Jackson was my friend. I was curious about what happened to him.  So I called someone who might know something. That’s all.”

“You know what I think?” she said, leaning towards him and poking him in the chest. “I think you were checking up on me. That’s not your job. Your job is to do what you’re damn well told. And you didn’t do that, did you?”

He grabbed her hand to stop her poking him again. “We’re not in the army. Obedience, yes. Blind obedience, no. I get to ask questions once in a while.”

“That’s where you’re so, so wrong, George. You don’t ever get to ask questions about things like bribery allegations, suicides or anything else that might cause a scandal for the Corporation. Never!  This is the Corporation. Everything you have you owe to the Corporation. So yes, you do owe blind obedience. That’s how it works. Those who won’t conform to that have to be weeded out.”

“It’s not a religion, it’s just a company.”

“No, George, it is a religion – our religion. And we must serve it just like a religion. I’m sad you don’t understand that but it means we must part company. I’ll show you out.”

***

The email the next morning was sent to all the corporation’s employees:

We have lost a valued employee, George Sands, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a tragic accident last night at the central monorail station. I am sure every staff member joins me in my condolences to his family. George was very well liked in our corporate community and he will be sorely missed. His family request that instead of flowers any donations be made in his name to United Way.

Belinda Lucas, Senior Vice President

***

David Bennett has now retired from the law and has returned to his first love: writing. Among other projects, he’s writing a collection of short stories each of which features a train station.

See upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day retreats here. 

Read more short stories, essays, and reviews by your fellow writers here (and scroll down).