"I Think Mom and Dad Are Going Crazy, Jerry" is a short story by Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...

. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror

Maps in a Mirror

Maps in a Mirror is a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card. Like Card's novels, most of the stories have a science fiction or fantasy theme...

. Card originally published this story in the May 1979 issue of New Era

New Era (magazine)

New Era is an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. First published in January 1971 along with the Ensign and the Friend, the New Era's intended audience has always been the youth of the Church...

magazine under the pseudonym Byron Walley.

Plot summary

This story is about a college freshman named Jerry and his family. Jerry’s parents are sick of paying for four cars and having their children use them irresponsibly so they decide to open their own “leasing company” and have their children pay to use them. When Jerry’s parents ask them to sign contracts the kids think that their parent’s have gone crazy. However as time goes by they discover that their parents are right and they learn to be more responsible.

Characters

• Jerry - main character
• Jerry’s Mom - unnamed
• Jerry’s Dad - unnamed
• Val - Jerry’s older sister
• Anne - Jerry’s younger sister
• Todd - Jerry’s brother
• Miriam - Jerry’s onetime date

Byron Walley

In the Question and Answer section of his website Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...

 said that the first time he used the name Byron Walley was when he published the short story "Gert Fram

Gert Fram

"Gert Fram" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror. This short story was the first piece of fiction Card ever published...

" in Ensign magazine. Card did this because he had a non-fiction article “Family Art”, a poem “Looking West” and a short play "The Rag Mission" (published under the name Brian Green) appearing in the same issue.

External links

• The official Orson Scott Card website
• "I Think Mom and Dad Are Going Crazy, Jerry" - available online from New Era magazine.