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

What is X?

At age 56 Mom went for her college degree and I admired that. But algebra eluded her, so I offered tutelage. "I don't understand. What is X? What is Y?" she demanded. "Just placeholders," I said, "for the unknowns. We could call them cat and dog; it doesn't matter." She was listening. I pressed on. "Here's an easy one: two equations, two unknowns. So first we get Y in terms of X from here, substitute there, and now we know X, and we know Y. See?" She watched me closely, thoughtful. Then she spoke. "Did I buy you that shirt?"

Ian Owens is a self-employed engineer who writes for the fun of it, mostly about self-propelled travel and Vikings. His first book, called "Riding the Big One," has both. Find Ian at ianowens.com.

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