River Dogs

Robert Olmstead
River Dogs
1987

"The old man was gone. Raymond turned and saw him halfway up the lane on the way to his trailer. Raymond walked through the side door and looked at his onions in the dim light coming through the doorway. He threw the breaker switch and the fluorescent tubes high in the trusses flickered, then lit. As each light came on, the mountain of onions grew. Millions of yellow globes the size of your fist nestled in together. They smelled rich and pungent, but if they weren't gone soon, they'd freeze, and then, when spring came, they'd rot. He hit the breaker switch and left for the house to wait for something else to happen."

--from "Onions"

img=000177.gif link=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0805051201/ref=nosim/medianuggeofthedA alt=Stories artist=Robert Olmstead