Columbus Day Storm, 1962

TV is black and white, Vietnam just starting to seep through. Black people get arrested onscreen but we only see cartoons. When static kicks up it looks like snow. High winds topple the neighbor’s fence, loosing their Dalmatian. That dog has teeth and it hates us. Mothers’ fears come true.







Autumn Stephens is a writer, editor, and poet. The author of the Wild Women book series and editor of two anthologies of women’s first-person essays, Autumn teaches private writing classes and leads writing groups for cancer survivors. She lives in an empty nest in Berkeley, California. Recreationally, she composes lists.