Becky Jo Gesteland is a professor of English at Weber State University, where she teaches classes in American literature and technical writing. Her previous publications include personal essays (Gravel, So to Speak, Palaver, Heartland Review West, and Role Reboot); interviews with Geraldine Brooks and Alice Sebold (Weber: The Contemporary West); a cultural analysis of anthropologist Gladys Reichard’s fieldwork with the Navajo (Plateau Journal); and articles on content management, program assessment, and XML (various technical communication books and journals). Becky’s latest project is a personal essay collection titled Unraveling. In her spare time, she indulges in Nordic Noir.

Bubba

I open the garage door pretending to hear his greeting, his howl. Drool dried on walls, mopboards, refrigerator, cupboards, television, and crown molding around doors—doors opening to the outside, where he marks trees, bushes, street signs, rocks, and hydrants on walks…