Avi

Once upon a time--it was the last day of a Labor Day weekend--I was about to drive my family home. We had been visiting with my parents. My son, Kevin, had been complaining about going back to school. Then, just as we were getting into the car, ready to go, he vanished. My first thought was, "Oh oh, Kevin is hiding so he can stay with his grandparents and miss school." My second thought was, "Hey, that's a good idea for a story." And in fact, that's how I got to think about the story that would become A PLACE CALLED UGLY.

And where was Kevin? He had just gone to the bathroom.