Haggis finally realized he was engaging in head-injury behavior and returned the platypus Beanie Baby to the bar before it got damaged. It was a squishy purple thing and Ray the bartender was overprotective about it. Imagine, a 47-year-old man fretting over a silly plush-thing manufactured for children by children. According to Haggis, Ray’s obsessionContinue reading “The Constant Swallow of Time”
Category Archives: Slice of Life
A Guide to Fishing for Freshwater Eels: Strategies & Techniques
Hal lived a simple life. He lived in his mother’s garage and grew food in a garden and angled for game in the brackish, man-made estuary on Holland Street. He loved to fish. He had to fish. You could usually find him standing on the old, crumbling cobblestone dams with his reel, waiting for theContinue reading “A Guide to Fishing for Freshwater Eels: Strategies & Techniques”
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”
There Is a Can of Red Paint
in the kitchen. The can of red paint is on the floor. In the middle of the kitchen. The can is sealed shut. It is essentially a brand-new can. Full, anyway. The floor of the kitchen is covered with old floating linoleum. It is patterned, and cheap. The pattern is composed of blue and greenContinue reading “There Is a Can of Red Paint”
Incense and Peppermints
Tommy remained in bed, determined to enjoy the morning. Incense and Peppermints played on the radio again. Tommy liked the song okay but they played it way too much. He preferred stuff with a darker, harder edge. Purple Haze was a way better song. Light My Fire too. But at least The Strawberry Alarm ClockContinue reading “Incense and Peppermints”
Stab Wounds Everywhere
Lillian The caustic rain of lacerations began as soon as Lillian burst awake at six am. The memory of that morning’s coffee would wound her two hours later. A baby in a stroller wounded her on the way to the bank. She tasted blood on her gums. A bus with mute, mutated faces in theContinue reading “Stab Wounds Everywhere”
A Cold Breakfast
I was young once and it lasted a good long mile. Like my grandfather before me. You may have heard of my grandfather, if you’re a true crime enthusiast. He became an infamous spree killer way back in 1957. His transition was sudden. In 2003, some talentless hack cobbled together a short documentary on myContinue reading “A Cold Breakfast”
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…”
“Joe Here.”
“Joe here,” was the way Joe answered the phone when he was behind his desk at the law offices of Sobchak & Sobchak. “Joe here,” he’d say. Every single time. He never juggled anything up. He was staid and steadfast when it came to telephone etiquette. Joe never flirted with variety. His delivery was deadpan, allContinue reading ““Joe Here.””
Crumbling Asphalt 