Bloomsday

Let me start off by saying I love your play on words in the title. This story had a dark but humorous feel which I enjoyed. You don't spend too much time worrying about details and descriptions, but when you do they are particularly memorable. For example, I really like the line "Until now, those aches and pains were the only way to be sure that he was still above the sod." As depressing as it may be, old age takes its toll on you. For some people (Murray Bloom) being old simply means you lack meaning in your life. You live a routine, robotic existence where the only thing that is different from day to day are the plaguing health problems associated with old age. I also liked the line about his toe nails: "Thick, gnarled and yellow, he needed a damn machete to cut them anymore." This line made me uneasy, which was a good thing because it forced me to visualize the effects of aging. I like that even though this story ends with his death, it is not saturated with sentiment and struggle to find the meaning of life. I also like that you added the Baltimore slang, at that point I had to read the story out loud to myself just because it made me laugh. Although I liked that you added a little touch of Baltimore to your story I was remembering back to the discussion that we had last week in class. To someone who is not from here, or not familiar with the area, they may not understand exactly where you are referring to, or the language that is used. In this case I think you could provide a little background information on the city itself and a little insight into the charming little accent that many Baltimorians possess. In addition giving a background of Baltimore, I would also like to know more about Joyce, Sean, and Murray's mother, things such as the way they died or reason's they are no longer in Murray's life.