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

The Old Trailer

The old Airstream had probably been parked at the edge of the woods for at least 50 years. I would often sneak down the dirt road, hide behind a big oak, and watch the old man feed his chickens or work in his small garden. Occasionally, he erected a scaffold, climbed on top of the trailer, and painted it with black tar to prevent leaks. Once my father saw him and yelled from the car, “Get down from there you old fool.” I thought this unkind, but Dad said, “Would you rather he fell?” I didn’t say anything else.  

Judy Brown Peacock grew up in a small southern town, attended Florida State University, and worked for the State of Florida for 35 years. Her hobbies include reading and writing.

Superstition

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