Creative Nonfiction and EssaysTerrye Turpin·Follow3 min read·Oct 17, 2020--ListenShareShort, humorous stories (mostly true)Welcome to CougarvilleWe’re not old, but we’re not mellow eithermedium.comThe Road UnspoiledI didn’t plan on leaving the house on Friday the 13th. Not because I’m superstitious, but because I had already removed…medium.comThe God of PoopAt my last physical my doctor mentioned it had been five years since I had a colonoscopy.medium.comAll Our Wishes GrantedMy oldest son, Robert, is an adult, but he has always been my challenging child. His youth brought parent teacher…thecreative.cafeGhosts in Our HomesLiterally Literary and The Writing Cooperative prompt — Exulansismedium.comHere in the Dark Beside YouI hesitated in the candlelight in front of the locked metal gate seven hundred and fifty feet underground. The cave was…psiloveyou.xyzThe RiversWe arrived in San Saba, Texas, the Pecan Capital of the World, in the hot late afternoon, in time to check into our…thecreative.cafeSearching for SantaIt’s Christmas Eve, and I’m looking for Santa. Not the jolly elf in red pajamas, my Santa is a six-inch tall ceramic…medium.comFreaks at the FairWhen I was seven years old, my parents lost me at the State Fair of Texas. Their last sight of me, I’d slipped into a…medium.comStanding in Line for Government CheeseMy mother always kept a full pantry, but I didn’t understand the financial struggle that food represented until I had…medium.comOur Proof of DevotionI am not a dog person. In fact, I think the perfect pet for me might just be a raccoon — one of those animals that are…psiloveyou.xyzThe Onion CapitolThe places we visit are never as perfect as they are in our memory. My grandmother’s house in Farmersville, Texas no…medium.comI’ll Never be This Lovely AgainI’ll Never Be This Lovely Againmedium.comThe Glue That Binds UsA Short Storytheweeklyknob.comWhat Falls From the Sky Does Not Strike MeOur rented Buick rocked as the tractor trailers and rock haulers zipped past on the highway. I gripped the door handle…medium.comMeet Me at the Vanishing PointAnother version of me has dirt under her fingernailshumanparts.medium.comThe Enchanted Rock and the Little Hill“We should visit Enchanted Rock,” Andrew suggested one evening, not long after we started dating.medium.comLemur Island is a Lonely IslandBut It’s a Lovely Place to Visitpsiloveyou.xyzA Pivot Toward AcceptanceIn 1980, after my sophomore year in college at Texas Woman’s University, I waited for the letter that would lead to a…medium.comThe Personal TouchBefore my divorce, I hadn’t thought much about underwear, other than the need to replace it if the elastic no longer…medium.comWhen We Are SmallDespite the crying during our last visit, we took our grandson, Will, back to the Heard Museum to see the robotic…medium.comJust Where We BelongI hesitated when I saw the invitation in my email because I am not a fan of scary movies. I tolerate them because they…medium.comYou Can Blame My MotherI’ve legally changed my name one time. When I married my first husband, I took his last name, and it has stuck through…medium.comWhat We DeserveI didn’t miss having a dryer until I bought my washing machine. For the two years after my divorce I made do with the…psiloveyou.xyzThe Chicken DanceI’d been sick with a cold, and in case I didn’t recover in time for the weekend, Andrew and I cancelled the camping…psiloveyou.xyzYou Can Lead a Pill Bug to Water…But You Can’t Make Them Do Much Else.medium.comCold Feet Warm SocksUntil I met Andrew, the man who would eventually become my husband, I was blissfully unaware that there were socks…theweeklyknob.comJoin Hands, Give ThanksI lived through two decades before I discovered that there were people in the world who made dressing with stale bread…medium.comThe Wheels on the Bike Go ‘Round and ‘RoundI flipped through the glossy pages of a fashion magazine and there, alongside an article on how to dress for a summer…medium.comThe Things I KeptI packed up my apartment in one afternoon, amazed at the amount and the variety of useless stuff I collected in…thecreative.cafeThe Changing RoomThe scar on my breast is a dark reddish brown, fading slowly at the edges. It is curved, like a parenthesis. There is a…psiloveyou.xyzThe Care of Cast IronI cannot find my mother’s frying pan. The one she gave me before she moved into the nursing home, before she died, and…theweeklyknob.comGhosts in Mineral WellsWhen the opportunity arose to plan a place to visit for my boyfriend Andrew’s birthday I chose the town of Mineral…psiloveyou.xyz
