Cindershinny
Jan 29th
Bee had known, even as she finally gave in, that she would regret her
decision to join the school Cross Country team. She’d never liked
running. Though she was now almost on par with the average eighth
grader, it hadn’t always been that way.
As a kindergartner, the first time she’d run around that quarter-mile
track, she had [...]
Chestbestland Westfordwoodshire
Jan 28th
Aiden Taylor Smith rode down the sidewalk on his shiny new tricycle. He left his cap on the front porch, so he’d know when he was back home. His house had a larger lanai in the back, counter-clockwise drainage gutters, and a few more flowers, but these differences were difficult for his seven year-old eyes [...]
Parks & Wreck
Jan 27th
We weren’t bad kids. What’s a bad kid anyway? Weird was what found us. Over and over it followed us like Pennywise on the playground.
Out in the big sunny park we played basketball for a few hours. We threw the fun colored football with the fragile tail on the end for distance — musta gone [...]
Labor Day
Jan 26th
2 pm: I was eating Chicken on a Stick. I had yet to discover my emotional limits. Sarah Silverman’s bodily functions blared in the background. In the foreground, grunts, sighs, and screams emerged. This was Labor Day.
Week 41 and our odyssey had only just begun. The contractions came on full force — nothing like anything [...]
Swimming Bowl
Jan 25th
January 25, 1998
Qualcom Stadium Attendance: 68,912
And the basement housed twenty if you held your breath. Jim Salvo hosted this party most years. Five guys from the softball team would bring their wives and a few kids a piece. This year, the shots started early — the teams were extra special.
You see, Father Isaacs loved [...]
Gymatorium
Jan 25th
Gymatorium: Selected Short Stories of Self-Loathing v.2.5.1
(optional install – version 3.0 release date TBA)
Caleb had paid for the damn two-year membership sixteen months ago, but he had stepped into the fitness center less than a dozen times since then.
“Today’s the day,” he decides aloud. “I’m going in!”
Upon entering Wellness Through Fitness gym, Caleb [...]
Take a Number
Jan 23rd
She lives alone now. The stuffed animals are at the Salvation Army. Her Legends of the Fall poster lays rubber-banded under the crate which secures her stash of adolescence. Her answering machine states her name and a polite greeting without a trace of sarcasm.
Her old roommates send cards every year around this time — fiancee’, [...]
Game Day
Jan 23rd
My mind wandered and I started to put the pieces together. As the only child of a single mother, I was indoctrinated into a different world than most of these guys. I didn’t have a father or brother or uncle to teach me the nuisances of sports. I grew up lacking an affinity for anything athletic. My childhood was filled more with details of menstruation than Joe Montana. I knew all about PMS, but nothing of the PGA. When I heard a man say something about ERA, I had to remind myself he probably didn’t mean Equal Rights Amendment.
The trend continued through my teens and twenties. Throughout high school and college, most of my friends tended to be women. I was taken into their confidence. Suffice it to say, being “one of the girls” did little for my dating life. When a woman considers you a friend, she doesn’t want to date you. Even worse, she overlooks you as a candidate for any of her single friends.
Then, of course, comes “the assumption.” Thank goodness for the new millennium and the introduction of the metrosexual. At least now, my sexuality isn’t questioned the way it once was. Although, my fiancée’s role should not be overlooked either.
The Club
Jan 22nd
Sadie Browningstone showed up bright and early for her 8:00 am appointment. There were things to discuss: the dull ache in her lower back; pain in the knuckles; blurry vision; pins and needles; possible side effects.
All of this was written in her notebook — the words painstakingly scrawled by her aching hands on such a [...]
Amendments
Jan 20th
We’d never been to a Gator game before. We’d always scoffed at the notion — showing up with thousands of drunken, violent, mainly redneck hooligans. But, this was different.
I had free tickets from a generous friend. So, Reg and I headed toward the stadium. I’d seen the crowds before, but never this closely. It was [...]
Stricken
Jan 16th
“I don’t understand, doctor. He was fine, just fine, two days ago.”
“Is there any history of this? Has this type of thing ever happened to your son before?” the good doctor inquired.
“No. Never.”
“Any family history of sudden hearing loss?”
“No,” Mrs. Payne replied weakly.
“Neither side? Yours or your late husband’s?”
“No, nothing. [...]
Pace
Jan 15th
Buster “Bunny” Shurgle was born February 29th in the year 1964 — the son of a big time, small town preacher in Arkswallows, Georgia. His father, Ace Shurgle, orchestrated four missionary trips per year. The rest of his time was spent with the community: working to rebuild houses, blessing pets, radio telethons, divine spring car [...]
Bored in Budapest
Jan 12th
To be accurate, it was just Buda. Pest, I hear, is a whole ‘nother animal…
Mike and I loped down the dark street. We’d taken leave of the girls pajama partying it up in our Hungarian studio apartment. Call it a half loft…make it a fourth. They would snuggle up with the bottle of wine and [...]
DOWNTOWN
Jan 7th
It all started pretty innocently. We were tired of sharing walls. Tired of only having one door. Still, we checked apartment listings all over town. Most didn’t allow dogs. Many looked insufferable — think cockroaches, unidentifiable stains, obvious undergraduate haunts — the rest waiting for a sucker in need of a condo.
That left houses. [...]
Community
Jan 3rd
From block to block it’s different, but a common sense of dread pervades this place. A glance at each house wouldn’t give it to you — only after holding your stare for a few moments. You’d notice a minor detail leading to a disturbing, but inevitable conclusion.
A small, but well-cared-for home with minimal weather damage [...]
End of the Road Trip
Jan 1st
Her head lightly vibrated against the glass of the passenger window as they flew down the highway. Only two hours on the road, seven hours to go. An eternity had passed since the return trip had begun. Over a week ago, they had made the trip north to her visit the in-laws [...]
