Broken Doll in the Boat by BiJanus

[Merkin]

"Broken Doll in the Boat" is a compelling contribution from BiJanus. It is gritty, real, and exhausting to read. It reminds us that we are much more complex that we appear on first glance, that there is hope in interaction however painful, and that there is redemption in human association.

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

--John Dunne

[The Pecman]

Very interesting story, with some nice psychological touches. And the link is here:

http://www.awesomedude.com/bi_janus/short_stories/broken_doll

[Bruin Fisher]

Just finished reading this compelling story. It is disturbing, but enthralling and ultimately uplifting. Thank you for writing!

[Jeff Ellis]

Very good, gritty with a great feeling of reality. You have to wonder how guys doing that kind of job get up each morning.

[bi_janus]

Thanks. Those of you hailing from Florida may recognize the event at the heart of the story, the destruction of one span of the Sunshine Skyway across Tampa Bay by the Summit Venture in May of 1980.

[The Pecman]

Ah, I know the Sunshine Skyway well -- I also wrote the bridge (but not the accident) in my 1968-1969 story Groovy Kind of Love also set in Tampa (and the neighboring Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg area). Beautiful place. There were several cold and foggy nights when I crossed that bridge in the early mornings of 1977, on the way to Sarasota, where I thought, "man, how bad would it be if somebody drove off the railing, or if a large boat hit a pylon and knocked the bridge down?" Scary place: