My Cardboard Balcony

The Bigger Star by Belinda Roddie She could hit more home runs than he could, drink more beer in one sitting than he could guzzle, and woo more girls than he could ever dream of courting in his lifetime, let alone a handful of years before the thirtieth one kicked him, hard, in the shins. She was more successful, more stable, and more capable than he was, but she never rubbed it in. Instead, she bought his pills for him, cooked his meals for him, and hugged him every night before he went to his job at the gas station, making an array of people smile beneath the smell of petroleum, hot summer, and stars.

The town that had once been such a staple of the gold rush was desolate, and had been so for over one hundred years. However, there was something to be said about its aesthetics as my team and I explored it, examining the abandoned buildings and saloons that had somehow maintained a fairly steady presence and foundation in the desert area. I half-expected a tumbleweed to swoop past my ankles as I sauntered over to an old bar, its sign still readable in the dust.