Jan Allen is an old lady who is loving retirement, especially the time it allows her for writing. Her stories have appeared in Pithead Chapel, Fiction on the Web, The Orange Rose and a few others.
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Interview with Jan Allen
about her story "A Home Care Nurse Pays Homage"
Honorable Mention for The Scribes Prize
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What inspired this piece?
In the early 1990s I was trained in our city’s buddy program which paired me with a person living with HIV/AIDS to help them with daily tasks and provide emotional support. Explaining this experience does not fit in 110 words. So far, I haven’t figured out how to effectively tell my buddies’ stories, even when I have unlimited words. I still walk past or drive by their homes sometimes.
If you could continue writing your story after these 100 words, what would happen next?
True story: Recently, my friend Barb drove me to some outdoor fair in a neighboring county with lots of candles and soaps. She picked up two other women along the way, they climbed into her back seat. For the next hour’s drive, I mostly talked to Barb, while the two women in the back talked to each other. When we got out of the car, one of the ladies said to me, “Are you Jan Wetzel?” (my maiden name). It was Patty, the home-care nurse who’d rescued my buddy and me from more than one dire situation in the mid-1990s. We’d lost touch 30 years ago. Maybe I’d start a longer story with that chance meeting, and the two of us could share what we remember about our courageous friends who died too young.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
I love my friend Maria McKenzie’s historical romance books, and I especially love the comedic mysteries she writes under the pen name Marissa Allen. I love Julie Price Pinkerton’s poetry, especially "Why I Opted for the More Expensive Oil at Jiffy Lube" in Rattle. I love Emily Rinkema’s flash fiction, especially "The Interview" in Variant Lit, although whenever I see her name listed in whatever journal I’m scrolling through, I’ll always read her piece first because I know it’s going to be amazing!
In the early 1990s I was trained in our city’s buddy program which paired me with a person living with HIV/AIDS to help them with daily tasks and provide emotional support. Explaining this experience does not fit in 110 words. So far, I haven’t figured out how to effectively tell my buddies’ stories, even when I have unlimited words. I still walk past or drive by their homes sometimes.
If you could continue writing your story after these 100 words, what would happen next?
True story: Recently, my friend Barb drove me to some outdoor fair in a neighboring county with lots of candles and soaps. She picked up two other women along the way, they climbed into her back seat. For the next hour’s drive, I mostly talked to Barb, while the two women in the back talked to each other. When we got out of the car, one of the ladies said to me, “Are you Jan Wetzel?” (my maiden name). It was Patty, the home-care nurse who’d rescued my buddy and me from more than one dire situation in the mid-1990s. We’d lost touch 30 years ago. Maybe I’d start a longer story with that chance meeting, and the two of us could share what we remember about our courageous friends who died too young.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
I love my friend Maria McKenzie’s historical romance books, and I especially love the comedic mysteries she writes under the pen name Marissa Allen. I love Julie Price Pinkerton’s poetry, especially "Why I Opted for the More Expensive Oil at Jiffy Lube" in Rattle. I love Emily Rinkema’s flash fiction, especially "The Interview" in Variant Lit, although whenever I see her name listed in whatever journal I’m scrolling through, I’ll always read her piece first because I know it’s going to be amazing!