Five Minutes explores five minutes of a life in one hundred words. Five minutes is edited by Susanna Baird, with editorial support from managing editor Maria s. picone, newsletter editor kate meen, and founding reader bobbi lerman, plus our rotating team of guest readers, who you can meet in the latest newsletteR. Five Minutes was founded in October 2020, with the Salem (Mass.)-based writing group Carrot Cake Writers supplying the journal’s first pieces. We’d love to read your five. Submit here

Catch

I’m an old guy now, but baseball can still make me giggle. My teenager still wants to play catch, with me. I’ve promised myself to never turn this request down, while it lasts. Thwack, he throws hard — way harder than I ever did. His fastball audibly sizzles as it comes in. Gotta catch it in the webbing. Oooh that’s a dirty curve. I giggle a little, I can’t help it, I’ve never been able to make a ball do that. There’s no deep conversation, but it’s an easy, steady chatter back and forth, like the path of the ball.

James Taylor lives in Virginia with his spouse and two boys and does some education research between sporting events.

Joseph Heller

Voice