I heard the beat of the drums and the deep blatting of the tuba and knew Carnival time had once again arrived.

There was hardly time for anything else with all the distractions we'd created for ourselves.

Brent used his Christianity as a shield for his sexist, racist, and homophobic feelings.

They had to look past the protesters and the hateful messages scrawled on placards in order to get a glimpse of their new home.

It had become hard to tell the criminals from the cops.

 By the neon glow of the beer sign she saw him smile at someone across the room the way she wished he would smile at her.

He saw an enemy behind every tree and a turncoat at every turn.