Serena Wagner

Jan 14, 2025 | volumeone.org | Mike Paulus |Serena Wagner

All over the city, strange little pockets of insanity are nestled at the intersections of our fair roadways. Few of us seem to understand how to navigate these asphalt obstacles, making up our own rules as we go along. But people, there are rules. Rules you must follow. I’m talking about four-way stops. I assume that, no matter where one lives in these great United States, one believes the drivers in their town are the worst at four-way stopping.

Oct 21, 2024 | volumeone.org | Mike Paulus |Serena Wagner

A boy in 1980s Eau Claire is so excited by his He-Man Halloween costume. He can’t stop looking at it. It includes a stiff plastic mask with a thin elastic string tied around the back, with holes for each eye and each nostril and a small slit between the He-Lips for breathing. The inside of the mask gets steamy and hot during prolonged use, and it looks kind of creepy laying there – eyeless – on the boy’s toy box.

Aug 21, 2024 | volumeone.org | Mike Paulus |Serena Wagner

It wasn’t “shag” carpet. But it was shaggier than most of the carpet you see nowadays. Inch-long carpet fibers, ranging in color from dark brown to very dark brown. It had rivers of shorter fibers running throughout, corralling the taller bits into irregular shapes and landmasses. Staring down at it, you’d see a vast collection of shaggy plateaus, cut through by ravines and slender canyons, spanning my entire bedroom floor. And it could be scary.