Richard Schmitt has published stories in Puerto del Sol, Gulf Coast, Flyway, Marlboro Review, and other places. His story, “Leaving Venice, Florida,” won 1st Prize in The Mississippi Review short story contest, and was anthologized in New Stories of the South: The Year’s Best 1999. He also has two novels, The Aerialist (Harcourt Brace, 2001) and Kodiak, forthcoming. Schmitt is the recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts Grant, 2002. “Other Happenings” is a part of a novel in progress tentatively titled My Year of Counseling.