CBA Record January-February 2024

T he CBA Record’s Third Annual Flash Fiction Contest – designed to showcase attorneys’ creative talents – received a record number of entries this year! Editorial Board members reviewed the submissions with Sandra D. Mertens’, who selected the winner from among the finalists. As last year’s Flash Fiction Contest winner, Mertens’ participation was especially meaningful. We’re pleased to announce that this year’s first place winner is Tom Keever’s short story The Heron. In second place is Safe Harbor by Erica Rocco. Rounding out the prizewinners in third place is Table for Five by Alice E. Keane. The Heron This year’s Flash Fiction winner is 50-year CBA member Tom Keevers, a retired insurance defense attorney. He is also a former Chicago police officer with three published mystery novels, so his gift for storytelling is not surprising. Using beautifully crafted language, Keevers deftly evokes the quiet stillness of a morning fly fishing on a Wis consin lake. It is a rumination on being alone – but realizing that one is not alone. We all share our space with other living, beautiful beings. Keevers’ inspiration was a cabin he used to have on a lake in Wisconsin and his love of fly fishing. His wife alerted him to the contest and serves as his first reader. Asked if he has plans to write further, Keevers says that he has enjoyed “fiddling around with writing” for many years but has no immediate plans for new works. Let’s hope new inspiration strikes him soon. Safe Harbor The second-place winner, Safe Harbor, by Erica Rocco, demonstrates how much can be packed into few words from a talented writer. The reader knows little about Bea, an older woman who has taken a stranger into her home, and the mysterious man who is clearly hiding something, yet somehow, we feel we do know them. This story touches on the kindness of strangers, bravery, hard work, regret, redemption, and recognizing humanity in each other. Table for Five The third-place winner, Table for Five, by Alice E. Keane, is a short story about a long friendship. Forming a study group as 1Ls after their first terrifying experience with the Socratic method, the piece follows five women through their career successes and setbacks. It is a heartfelt story of the importance of friendship and support through the years.

Digital copies of the 2nd and 3rd place winning entries are available atwww.chicagobar.org/record.

24 JanuaryFebruary 2024