"Hey Ma, Where's Willie?"

"Hey Ma, Where's Willie?" by I. M. Bukstein is a comedic science fiction story from the early 1950s that centers on a rural family dealing with the vanishing of their son, Willie, who is seen as the family misfit. The story examines family bonds, how society views intelligence and being normal, and the habit of ignoring people who are different. The story is told from the point of view of Willie's father, who thinks about Willie's strange behavior and how different he is from his other kids. Willie, known for his weird questions and difficulty with farm work, disappears around the time of strange lights in the sky. As the family looks for him, the father goes from not caring to being curious as to what happened of Willie. The story ends with Willie coming back with strange friends, which suggests aliens. This funny twist shows how silly their problems are and also shows that even the family member who isn't liked as much as others can have amazing experiences.