We’ve ridden above the low hills

that separate Rattlesnake Mountain

from the river, far from the road.

Jesse did usually cause trouble, but he believed some thoughts must be given voice.

The shirt said Ask me about my Savior. The letters were small and red, set against a gray background with a question mark bent into the likeness of a cross. He wore the shirt to school every day for a week, but it wasn’t until Friday that it became a problem.

“Mr. Burns? I’m sorry to interrupt your class, but would you send Jesse to the office.”

He slept soundly, but she was still afraid because he usually woke up when she left. But on this early morning, he was so drunk escape seemed possible. She continued to crawl on her belly until she reached the verge of the yard. Beyond the uncut grass was the prairie, the desert sand, and, further on, the shelter of sage. When her fingers reached the sandy edge of the desert, she looked back. A clumsy shadow moved behind the dingy glass of a cracked window.

So, here’s how a miracle changed my life:

I had been staring out the window for a while, but that didn’t help, so I got up and walked from one end of the house to the other. That didn’t help either, so I went outside and sat on the steps. For a long time, I looked out through the trees to where the lake would have been visible if it hadn’t been dark. And that didn’t help, so I got up and went back inside.