Mary Margaret Road-Grader

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By Howard Waldrop

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Fiction

29 January 2001

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Poetry

It was the time of the Sun Dance and the

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Before Paphos by Loretta Casteen 8 January 2007 It starts again. The baby begins to cough and choke. Locked Doors

Big Tractor Pull. Freddy-in-the-Hollow and by Stephanie Burgis I had traveled three days to be at the river. 1 January 2007 We were almost late, what with the sandstorm and the raid on the white You can never let anyone settlement over to Old Dallas. suspect, his mother told him. We pulled in with our wrecker and string of That was the first rule she fine cars, many of them newly-stolen. You taught him, and the last, before she left him here alone should have seen Freddy and me that morning, the first morning of the Sun Dance.with It.

Heroic Measures We were dressed in new-stolen fatigues and we had bright leather holsters and by Matthew Johnson pistols. Freddy had a new carbine, too. We o Banners were wearing our silver and feathers and 18 December 2006 hard goods. I noticed many women SUPPORT US watching us as we drove in. There seemed Pale as he was, it was hard to o Donate believe he would never rise to be many more here than the last Sun from this bed. Even in the Ceremony. It looked to be a good time. o Bookstore darkest times, she had never The usual crowd gathered before we could really feared for him; he had o Merchandise circle up our remuda. I saw Bob One-Eye always been strong, so and Nathan Big Gimp, the mechanics, come strong. COMMUNITY across from their circles. Already the cook Love Among the Talus fires were burning and women were o Forum skinning out the cattle that had been by Elizabeth Bear o Readers' slaughtered early in the morning. Choice "Hoo!" I heard Nathan call as he limped to 11 December 2006 our wrecker. He was old; his left leg had Nilufer raised her eyes to his. been shattered in the Highway wars, he It was not what women did went back that far. He put his hands on his to men, but she was a hip and looked over our line. princess, and he was only a o

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Mary Margaret Road-Grader

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"I know that car, Billy-Bob Chevrolet," he bandit. "I want to be a Witch," she said. "A Witch said to me, pointing to an old Mercury. "Those son-a bitch Dallas people stole it and not a Queen. I wish to be from me last year. I know its plates. It is not loved, but wise. Tell your good you stole it back. Maybe I will talk to bandit lord, if he can give me that, I might accept his gift." you about doing car work to get it back sometime." Archived Fiction Dating back "We'll have to drink about it," I said. "Let's stake them out," said Freddy-in-the-Hollow. "I'm tired of pulling them."

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