A lively essay that compares public-school education to a deconstructed hamburger with all the trimmings: That’s “An Education on Education,” by an author, with a master’s in education, named Shelonda Richardson. (Lesson learned: Let’s make that burger — our kids’ educations — well-done.)
Addison Odum’s “Wedding Cake”: That’s the fictional story of a photographer, a wedding crasher, and a woman with a sex-toy fetish. (Lesson learned: Crasher and fetishist make for a handsome couple — and good photo.)
A 14-year-old girl in the back seat of a car barreling down a gravel road and taking her first hits off of a cigar: That’s Paulette Regan’s “First Cigar.” (Lesson learned: “You’re better than any old boy,” says the girl’s Uncle George and to his niece’s delight.)
