UFR Weekly Newsletter #1: Slouching Towards Something

[David Cotrone]

We’ve been overwhelmed by the numbers. Our site has been hit over 11,000 times, we’re up to our eyes in submissions (that’s the way we like it, though; please, whatever you do, keep submitting, keep encouraging others to submit their stories and ideas), and we’re still thinking of new ways to grow.

Besides posting fiction, nonfiction and poetry to the site, we’re happy to announce the arrival of a couple columnists. Katie Eisenberg, for example, reflects on small moments of existence; Aaron Wolfe writes about his life and records music that corresponds with what he’s feeling. (Speaking of, A Two-Headed Boy is really something. Aaron’s honesty and storytelling jerks me awake; his music only adds to his rawness and candor, his vulnerability that’s both comforting and sad.)

We’re still sifting through our column submissions and we want to accept them all but we can’t. Not right now, at least. If you have an idea and you haven’t submitted yet, please do submit. We’ll see if we can work something out.

***

In my senior year of high school, I was late for my first appointment with my therapist. Stuck in traffic, I wondered if I would tell him about my loneliness, my emptiness, how I would introduce myself. I wondered if I should start the conversation with an anecdote, something like how I used to go through my dad’s music when he was out of the house, how I found Neil Young Unplugged and played it on the stereo in the living room, how I sat in the middle of the floor, listening to Neil sing, “And in my mind I still need some place to go,” how I held my hands over my face, “Helpless, helpless, helpless, well, can you hear me now?”

I eventually pulled into the parking lot, gave my name to the receptionist, was called into Jed’s office.

“Really sorry,” I said. I looked around, thought about his other patients, how they got there, if they were better.

“For what?”

“Being late.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “ I knew you were on your way, that you would be here soon.”

***

Some picks from further back in our archives:

Talking with Furniture: Luis Alberto Urrea

Corrective by Julie Innis

Five poems by Mel Bosworth

***

Know what I do now to feel un-alone? I think of all of you.

What do you do?

Please feel free to respond to this message, even just to say hi.

Be well,

David

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Thank you for reading each other’s stories, for contributing, for submitting, for your support. If you have time, please invite some of your friends to this e-mail group. Follow this link and press the button that says, “Invite members.” We believe in a grassroots approach to building a community. We believe in each other. We believe in you.

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