Shout, by Dagoberto Gilb

Odd, isn’t it, that we as a species can put a man on the moon but we can’t seem to master the intricacies of what would seem, on the surface, to be simple interpersonal relationships. While scientists are busy in laboratories designing advanced anti-virals and mapping the human genome, some of those very same scientists are going home to scenes of conflict and distress that provide them with no sanctuary against the ravages of the uncaring world. Take away the science and the education, take away the higher purpose of their work, indeed take away everything but the simple need to work in order to provide for the obligations, often unwillingly taken on, of a family’s security, and the stresses of that home life become even more acute and striking. Such is the scenario found in Dagoberto Gilb’s short story, “Shout,” where the reader is shown a snapshot into the life of a struggling young family as they attempt to prevail against the seemingly impossible odds that their sit...