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Monday, September 23, 2013

AMERICAN PORTRAITS: A COLLAGE

by Howie Good


A Bering Sea crab fisherman with a king crab. Photo by Corey Arnold

1

The tail fin of a sockeye salmon
caught in a net in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Matthew Sullivan releasing a gull
that crash-landed on the deck of the Rollo.

New buoys sit aboard a crab vessel.

Billie Delaney, a fisherwoman, holds
a dead seabird at Graveyard Point.

2

One morning she flew
to an early analyst meeting
and realized too late
that she had left
her dress shoes on the plane.
So she eyed women
in the baggage claim area,
spotted a suitable pair
worn by one of them —
and approached
with a $120 cash offer
for the emergency footwear.
The stranger said no
but offered a second pair
from her suitcase. Done.

3

Arrested by the Seattle police
for shooting a car’s tires.
Enlisted in the Navy Reserve.
Spent two days in jail
after a bar fight in Georgia.
Investigated for shooting a gun through his ceiling.
Honorably discharged,
despite “pattern of misbehavior.”
Contractor security clearance re-approved.
Told the Rhode Island police
he was hearing voices.
Twice went to Veterans Affairs hospitals
seeking treatment for insomnia.
Killed 12 people at Washington Navy Yard.


Sources: 1. “Eat, Fish, Sleep, Click” http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/eat-sleep-fish-click/; 2. “Former Amazon Executive Dies in Bicycle Accident,” http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/former-amazon-executive-dies-in-bicycle-accident/?hpw 3. “A Troubled Past,” http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/20/us/a-troubled-past-.html?ref=us


Howie Good, a journalism professor at SUNY New Paltz, is the author of five poetry collections, most recently Cryptic Endearments from Knives Forks & Spoons Press. He has a number of chapbooks forthcoming, including Elephant Gun from Dog on a Chain Press. His poetry has been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net anthology. goodh51(at)gmail.com.