Category Archives: Melodrama

Manny’s Cancer

Manny was sure his cancer was related to the microwave oven at the Blue Ox Steakhouse. He’d worked in front of it for almost ten years. It had been manufactured in the early 80s and he stood with his unprotected head right next to it from 1994 to 2004. There was a pinhole in theContinue reading “Manny’s Cancer”

Fear of the Fuchsia

There is a husband. And a wife. Above them a mild sky. Pretty music plays nearby. “Nice violins,” the husband says to his wife who doesn’t respond. She is kneeling on the freshly-cropped lawn, ripping weeds out of a round flowerbed. The smell of wild onions permeates the air. The garden is bordered by redContinue reading “Fear of the Fuchsia”

The Total Package

She was straightforward and told me I had “zero charisma.” She didn’t mince words. She insisted—with venomous emphasis—that I was boring and had nothing of value to offer. She compared me to a dead mime and because she refused to explain the analogy, I had no rebuttal.  She pulled no punches, my Lois. Really gaveContinue reading “The Total Package”

The Story of 8

Story of 8 “The teenager of the new generation grew up in a time of nerves. Newspapers screaming headlines of race riots, revolution, earthquakes. And back of it all: speed! Everyone rushing nowhere to get nowhere for no reason. Fast planes, fast cars. It’s a fast life, Inspector. It’s a whirlpool of speed and confusionContinue reading “The Story of 8”

Smothered Under Heavy Cement…

It took a silvery sliver of a second. I was only thirteen. It happened so long ago… Then why does it still weigh me down like a pair of gangster-style cement shoes?   The sudden snap of light startled me from my transition into sleep…. I’d been edging into the relief of a dream…and then myContinue reading “Smothered Under Heavy Cement…”

Heaven Always Has Room

Wish List: I once worked with a tall drink of water named Christopher J. McSpinch. I’ll always remember that unusual name. He was a nice, polite guy and I liked him. We worked for a company called Intelillink Communications. Don’t bother looking it up, it’s long gone. It was merged into oblivion.  My duties includedContinue reading “Heaven Always Has Room”

The Source of My Anxiety

My wife Susan had a dark streak. She carried herself like the pampered aristocrat she was but insisted she was a Surrealist. She actually told people that. “What do you do?” they’d ask. “I’m a Surrealist,” she’d say. She made Duchampian readymades. I, myself felt like a writer. Susan made things. I made things up.Continue reading “The Source of My Anxiety”

Vasectomy Performed on a Roller Coaster

Kent Coleman owned a collection of fiberglass toy-factory legs. He stole every single one. Smuggled them beyond the factory grounds under his voluminous brown sarape. Kent Coleman bore a striking likeness to actor Judd Hirsch. It was this uncanny resemblance that allowed him to get away with his pathological larceny. No one would suspect aContinue reading “Vasectomy Performed on a Roller Coaster”

The Crooner

The Crooner sat alone in his dressing room. He’d draped an old, stained tablecloth over the mirror and had unscrewed most of the light-bulbs around the frame. Dressing room lights were always too bright and the mirrors captured too many hard memories. He wore his life on his face. He lifted a pint of whiskeyContinue reading “The Crooner”