title: Road Closed: Twelve bloody stories to brighten your day
author: Jason Offutt
description: Jason Offutt grew up on a farm near Orrick, Missouri. As a boy he wanted two things out of life: 1) to become an author, and 2) to never shovel hog shit again. Hes accomplished both. Jason teaches college journalism. You can find his other works at: www.jasonoffutt.com.
zlib_text: **No Good Asking**
  
   **Fran Kimmel**
  
  ![](Images/image00139.jpeg)
  
  _To Jim_
  
   **Contents**
  
   **Part One**
  
   _They All Come from Somewhere_
  
  One
  
  Two
  
  Three
  
  Four
  
  Five
  
   **Part Two**
  
   _Like Soldiers When They Come Home from War_
  
  Six
  
  Seven
  
  Eight
  
   **Part Three**
  
   _Play It Again_
  
  Nine
  
   **Part Four**
  
   _Not Quite Real_
  
  Ten
  
  Eleven
  
   **Part Five**
  
   _This Inexplicable and Titanic Shift_
  
  Twelve
  
   **Part Six**
  
   _Those Words Could Mean Anything_
  
  Thirteen
  
  Fourteen
  
   **Part Seven**
  
   _Thursday’s Child Has Far to Go_
  
  Fifteen
  
   **Acknowledgements**
  
   **Book Club**
  
   _Discussion Questions_
  
   **About the Author**
  
   **Copyright**
  
   **Part One**
  
   **They All Come from Somewhere**
  
   _Friday, December 20_
  
   **One**
  
  From a distance, it looked like a small smear of blood on a white blanket.
  Perhaps a wounded coyote, staggering along the road in the relentless wind.
  Eric drove on, a flurry of white surrounding his car, keeping to the faint
  tracks he’d made the day before. As he drew nearer, 