There’s a short story by Richard Pindell called “Somebody’s Son.” It opens with a runaway boy, named David, sitting by the side of a road. He’s writing a letter home to his mother. The letter expresses the hope that his old-fashioned father will forgive him and accept him again as a son. The boy writes:
“Dear Mother, in a few days I’ll be passing our property. If dad will take me back, ask him to t…
