Dennis Magliozzi

End to End

"Hello?"
There is a slight delay in response during a land line phone call from Townsend, Massachusetts to Kodiak, Alaska.

"Hi."
And it’s her voice, sweet and soft and renewed, rising up from silence like a dream.
And then, her laugh.

We don’t cut out the usual stuff; the ‘how are you,’ or ‘how was your day.’ It’s all worthwhile; it’s all fun and nice and fine.

We talk like this, Shannon and I, with the delay and distance and miles and time between us, for six months. I talk about trying to get out of the Coast Guard early, but I know this is not possible.

"What if I bought a ticket to Alaska?"

At the terminal
From end to end
Thirty paces