"A Good Man is Hard to Find" - Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor is one of my favorite writers. She grew up in a small town, and - maybe because of small town characters, or maybe because of small-town happenstance, she realized that anything could happen. A criminal meets a small town family dominated by a mean-spirited grandma. Whooo-wee, Helzapoppin. The crazy grandma leads her family into a confrontation with a criminal who has nothing to loose. Everyone has an awakening, but too late. The criminal can't leave it alone, as he wants to make his punishment "fit the crime." The grandma, well, her awakening comes a bit too late. She realizes (convienently after she has led her family into a death trap and destruction that...)well, when she recognizes that the criminal could have been her, "Bailey boy," I love this story, especially the part where she smuggles her cat into the car.

Flannery O'Conner. She was born before her time.