Chris Phillips Maternity Ward, East Melbourne; April 2003The midwives are attending to other new mums or about-to-be mums. Paul’s putting our stuff in the car to go home. I am a bit nervous that it’s now just the two of us.
David Wilson, of our partner site The Footy Almanac, writes of shifting youthful dreams: beach, cricket, a girl. And a dose of Paul Kelly.
Vin Maskell Moggs Creek, Australia, 1983 to 2013Part 2 of our three-part series about family, a beach house and its record collection: from The Screaming Tribesmen to The Girl From Ipanema.
Paul Genoni's essay about the much-loved For A Short Time covers a lot of ground: sport in Melbourne (especially during Grand Final Week), the murder of Jill Meagher in 2012, the dedication of Weddings Parties Anything fans. It is a fine piece of writing: evocative, restrained, articulate, considered.
Kath Presdee The Gypsy Bar, Civic, Canberra - late 1999There are times when I need to say something that only Steve would understand and that's when I miss him most. Now is one of those times.
Lucia Nardo Hospital, Melbourne, 2015There’s only one way to take a diagnosis of cancer in our family. You get on with it. But the day of Martin's surgery, I’m not getting on with it very well.
Almanac Music, a partner site of Stereo Stories, has just published a long essay about the 1968 Jimmy Webb song By The Time I Get To Phoenix, made famous by Glen Campbell.Written by Peter Warrington, the 2000 words - and accompanying maps - take us from the west coast of the US to the song's landmarks: Phoenix, Albuquerque, Oklahoma.It's quite a trip.
Anthony W Collins Auchenflower, Queensland, 1987I had enrolled in a subject about American diplomatic history in the 20th century. I needed the subject to complete a Major - and it gave me a Friday off.
Alan Attwood Las Vegas; March 1996The song played in my head when I ran at night along a dead straight road in the darkness of the Nevada desert, which was as real as Las Vegas was fake.
Clare Hennessy Berlin, September 2015The act of filling a day and encountering the world had left me battered. I rattled to my final, haphazardly selected destination via the U-bahn.