(This story is dedicated to Johnny Payne.)
Three months ago, A had taken to selecting completely incorrect words. For example, A now said snow for sleep; the day before, A said happiness for alone.
Before the …
My roommate took off right before I lost my job at the pizza place. The only thing he left behind was a note that read, “Moved back home.” If only the unpaid rent were attached to it.
I sit at …
Eighty-five year old Betsy lies on the bed where she will soon expire. She’s lived a full and fascinating life to say the least. Family and friends surround her. More gather throughout the house. Outside, hundreds. They are there not only to …
When you die an angel reads out your statistics and fun facts. Seven men loved you (you knew of one and only suspected two). Forty fantasized of you. You died owing debts to nineteen people, mostly borrowed loonies from childhood. The …
The trees are screaming in the most incredible way: cicadas released. The ground rumbles with frogs, who are the only ones happy about the flooding in our county.
We’re isolated here with the bugs and the frogs and the flood. …
I never liked people getting in my face. Mom said, whenever she took me out in the stroller, some neighbor would always stop us, crouch down, and stick a finger in my tight pink fist. I growled, always. What a …
For the past twenty years, Jim has called a short run of highway through the Florida Keys home. A five-mile stretch where palm trees anchor into white sand beaches, seafood joints claim fresh daily catches, a skanky bar serves travelers …
Your wife won’t let you take over-the-counter medications. She won’t even allow them in the apartment. You act oblivious to her motives, but deep down, you know she thinks you’re weak and is trying desperately to toughen you up. This …
The wrappers in the store candy bin mesmerized me, a well-surfed chocolate sea of reds, blues, and golds. Reaching in, I cut myself on a jagged piece of tarnished metal jutting out like Florida. I wanted to ask for a …
The new hires we pair straight away with the new corn. New corn is more energetic, more eager to prove itself, yet easier to scare. There is more leeway for the newbies to make mistakes, more ground to tolerate error. …