{"id":20636,"date":"2025-09-28T16:59:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T21:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/?p=20636"},"modified":"2025-09-30T15:18:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T20:18:29","slug":"banner-days-the-life-of-the-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/banner-days-the-life-of-the-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Banner Days &amp; The Life of the Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Linda McMullen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Banner Days<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Prom night, aged 17: the surreptitious banner, half-crouching behind a fake fig tree, read \u201cEnchanted Garden\u201d. I was The Lady in Red. You blushed, and asked me to dance \u2013 and I cocked my head to the side, scrambling to recollect. Were you the scullion who authored my lab reports? My backpack bearer? No, you had \u201crevised\u201d my essay on The Scarlet Letter for me. The melody unchained itself from your plaintive gaze and I slid my eyes back toward pretty boy Josh instead. He had his father\u2019s plush-seated Lexus, and I had no curfew. When I lay on my back, the gleam from my mirrored crucifix necklace danced through the moon roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">My sister\u2019s wedding, aged 27: the kinky gold banner branching over the VFW double doors, spelling Congratulations! I couldn\u2019t wait to shuck off my burgundy bridesmaid\u2019s dress. I thought you would ask me to dance, but instead you offered monologues about literature and science. The music and the champagne drowned racing thoughts, blotting out the date. Then I saw \u2013 Josh. He\u2019d taken over his father\u2019s car dealership, had never had to worry about taking a year away, losing scholarships, dropping out, taking a nowhere second-shift job. When I gazed into your eyes, I saw an unbroken stretch of backyard barbeques looking back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Tonight, aged 37: the rainbow-tinted birthday banner, and gift bags made from dead trees. My cerise sweater too bright for the occasion. You did a jokey dance to make me smile, as I shook my head. A new scarf, a bottle of wine, a 23andMe kit. The kids are singing the \u201cyou live in a zoo\u201d version and the room swirls. Next month our son Joseph will open my DNA results and demand, <em>Mom, why does this say I have a 19-year-old half-sister?<\/em> You will turn to me, and I will stare at my reflection in a wine bottle Josh sent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>The Life of the Mind<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Monsters under the bed folded themselves into dust bunnies and my pimples sublimed<br>into the sunset and I squeaked a passing grade even though I showed up to the exam an hour late, and naked. The man chasing me tripped on a giggling sidewalk ledge and his knife sprawled across the gutter grate before the crocodile rose up and devoured it. My fallen teeth arranged themselves into a pearl necklace and my dead grandmother clasped it behind my neck. I thought it would protect me against the black-bordered page taped across the door of my childhood home, but the grass still wept and the old sycamore bowed a hoary head. The worms xylophoned across my father\u2019s ribs but my mother couldn\u2019t hear the song; instead she chased the albums fluttering toward the moon. One day I woke with a start and the nurse asked me my name, and I didn\u2019t know how to answer her, I merely passed on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Linda McMullen<\/strong> is a wife, mother, diplomat, and homesick Wisconsinite. She has published two hundred short stories and is delighted to return to writing after a bit of an absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/my-med-school-osce\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/the-second-law-of-thermodynamics\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Linda McMullen __________ Banner Days Prom night, aged 17: the surreptitious banner, half-crouching behind a fake fig tree, read \u201cEnchanted Garden\u201d. I was The Lady in Red. You blushed, and asked me to dance \u2013 and I cocked my head to the side, scrambling to recollect. Were you the scullion who authored my lab reports?&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238],"tags":[75,146,100,101,26],"class_list":["post-20636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kaleidoscopes-sep-25","tag-boudin","tag-fiction-2","tag-flashfiction","tag-microfiction","tag-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20938,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20636\/revisions\/20938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}