My mother looked at me and shrugged. “Football khosheyeh zendegeh pesaram ra gerefteh.” Soccer take away my happy boy, she’d said, and left with a sigh to get more things.

-from “The Churning”

Fun relevant daily facts, according to historynet.com:

Today in 1847, the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was published. What does this have to do with “The Churning”? Nothing. Except Jane Eyre was the cause of much, much suffering among those I’ve shared English/writing classes with – flashbacks, even! – and my book is, well, about a certain amount of suffering. Thanks, Ms. Bronte!