A30 Short Stories
The Painted Door
- Sinclair Ross
- Lust is short-lived; unfaithfulness is destructive.
Characters
The Lamp at Noon
Characters
One’s a Heifer
Characters
- Tim’s owner - 13 years old, lives with his aunt and uncle
- Tim - a tired horse
- Arthur’s girl - slow-witted
- Aunt Ellen - puzzled, indulgent
- Arthur Vickers - crazy, has a pet owl
The Outlaw
- Sinclair Ross
- Character reveals who we truly are; reputation is skewed by the other’s perceptions.
Characters
- Isabel - killer horse, beautiful, misunderstood
- Millie Dickson
- Isabel’s rider - impressionable, imaginative, brave
- Parents
Young Man’s Folly
Characters
- Erica, Barbara, Jennifer
- Dad - newscaster, cheater
- Mom - government worker, sews
- Son - ungrateful
To Set Our House in Order
- Margaret Laurence
- Living isn’t near and orderly; some lies are loving.
Characters
- Vanessa - has a dead baby sister
- Dr. Paul Cates - Beth’s doctor
- Ewen - Vanessa’s father, doctor
- Beth - Vanessa’s mother
- Grandma Eleanor MacLeod (née MacInnes) - born in ON; father was a horse doctor
- Grandfather Connor MacLeod - blacksmith; hardware store owner; doctor; read Greek plays
- Uncle Roderick - died at the Somme, blind in one eye; a year younger than Ewen
- Mavis Duncan, Laura Kennedy, Patsy Drummond
- Edna Connor - Beth’s sister, vulgar
- Logan MacCardney
- Niall Cameron
Dreams
- Budge Wilson
- Happy individuals pursue their unique dreams; people who settle for security and stop dreaming lose their joy.
Characters
- Amery’s brother - dreams of being a fisherman, junior exec at oil company
- Amery - becomes like his father
- Amery’s father - destroys Amery’s brother’s dreams
Mirrors
Characters
- Pat’s brother - puts a curse on the house
- Pat - oldest sister, has a license
- Bernice - arranges for the sale of the house
- Jennie - Pat’s sister, cried in the back seat of the car when the house is sold
- Coco - got hit by a car
- Tim - shares everything with his 8 siblings
Saying Goodbye
- Linda Holeman
- Though life can be fickle, the love of a parent is constant.
- Death changes relationships, but memories remain constant.
Characters
- Liza
- Bryan - Liza’s crush
- Danny Mitchell - Liza’s first kiss
- Delia - rude, insensitive cousin
- Loonies - people who live on the Island
- Ronnette - oldest child
- Auntie Yvonne - Liza’s aunt
- Wicked Willie - heavy metal guitarist
The Rink
Characters
- Jason - Cory’s older brother
- Cory - 5-year-old band-aid
- Mr. Givens - former principal, widower
- Michael - grown son who isn’t understanding
- Judy - Michael’s wife
- Bradley - refuses to skate on the rink
- Shane - leader of the “gang”
- Wilbur Hall - juvie
Like a Water Lily
Characters
- Lida Snider - 13 years old, mother works at Walmart, father’s a jobless drunk, always picked last
- Julie Halloway - new student from Victoria, befriends Lida, has a pet canary, father’s in Navy
- Tiffany - blonde, unkind to Lida
- Helena and George - dodgeball team leaders
- Mrs. Jolliffe - grade seven teacher, teaches similes