Cleaning the window frames with a bicarbonate and vinegar mix as I do every Thursday, keeps my neighbourhood safe. Saves the faffing of EVERYONE ringing the council if the dustbin men don’t arrive. George was a heavy smoker back in the day and I proudly adhere to keeping appearances up- old habits die hard. “George! Some fella is at the door!” ”Are you listening? Stop copping a deaf un! Quick! Grab some kitchen roll or so...

I was going about my business yesterday when I saw something very unusual. I am accustomed to female students getting into my cab after a night on the town sans their panties — the sight in my rear view mirror is worth the fare. Last night however, I saw a gorgeous lady of mature years strip off at the bus stop, and climb the stairs to the top deck stark naked as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Then the ligh...

I was tailing the unfaithful husband of a neurotic client down a dark alley when someone slipped behind me and put a gun to my neck. I heard Bugsy’s voice and knew I had a problem.“Frank Danger, P.I.!” he said with a delighted baritone that rumbled like a dump truck.“Bugsy.”He laid a heavy mitt on my back and sent me staggering. Bugsy was a great guy. I thought the world of him.“Hands up!” he said, “Turn around slow.”I ca...

 A white ball streaked across green felt and snapped into a triangle of colorful balls. The formation exploded, and the balls thumped off rails, clicked off one another, came to rolling stops. Two stripes fell into pockets.Billy Miller removed a greasy baseball cap, ran a hand through greasy hair, returned the cap to his head, and said: “I hate you.”Stephen Zander smiled and chalked his cue with a big fist. He was tall an...

It was a beautiful Saturday in June when I received a call from dispatch. It seems a bus driver had three youngsters on her coach that were a little too young to be on their own. The female driver had called her dispatcher who in turn dispatched me. I was to intercept the bus and wait for the parents to arrive. I caught the bus on a regular layover and had the kids exit the coach. It seems they wanted to exchange their Po...

Based on a true story, which took place in Sichuan, China after a massive earthquake on 12 May 2008.In his last few words, he said, ‘I am the first one who is lying under the three layers of concrete in the world. I don’t have any great ambition in my life. All I want to do is just sharing a quiet life with my adored wife. I won’t give my family up. I need to be tough. I have to be tough for the one who is deeply in love...

It’s been an eternity since he was sitting on the bench in the pouring rain. It’s been an eternity since the skies have forgotten how the blue might have looked. It’s been an eternity since Heaven and Earth had been washed together by the ashen grey diluted in every raindrop and every speck of cloud.He was raining for ages inside. The pain of the abandoned heart was gathering into raging flows, ravaging the soft tissue of...

Little kitten, you never learned to meow properly in the short time we had you. You made weird, half-assed cat noises, now it is very, very quiet at meal times. I will miss coming home to find you sleeping on the end of my bed, or sometimes to find your poo on my bedroom floor. I will miss how easily wound up you were, and the scratches you gave me from constantly messing with you. I will miss your occasional angsty behav...

Shelley’s monsters are wailing at me like their lives are at stake, and this guy wants to talk about insurance. Oh, I’ll call him all right – no question. Thanks for the card.The brats pull me free. They lead me past a shoe store, a phone store, a jeweler. We go by a kiosk for t-shirts, a kiosk for hobby drones, a chattering pack of teenage girls, and now we’re near the food court. I corral the kids over to a table, and w...

The woman sat at the bar and stared into her drink and Harvey stood behind her. He laid a hand on her back and leaned in so his mouth was in her ear. “Did you get it?”She nodded at her drink.Harvey sat down. “Beautiful.”The bartender walked over. “What can I get you?”“Whiskey,” Harvey said. “Neat.”“How about you, ma’am? Ready for a refill?”The woman covered her glass with her palm. The bartender left and came back with a...

She pulled from her cigarette, blew a stream of white smoke over my head, and asked: “Really John, what are you implying?”“I’m not implying anything,” I said. “I’m telling you flat-out that you killed your husband.”She blinked. There was a slight clenching of the jaw. Otherwise, her face remained careless and slack. She laughed. “You’ve seen too many movies!”“Have I?”She sighed and regarded me with disappointed eyes. “Wel...

We followed railroad tracks by the forest, and the tracks followed the river. A white moon hung full and bright to our right, fluorescent on the water. To our left, dense black trees grew close to the tracks. Chalk-white stones glowed with the moon, piled loosely around heavy wooden ties. I grabbed one of the stones and gauged its weight, its feel. Then, with all I had, I flung it into the river. We were silent for a mome...

 I have a request to Buddha, “Please let all my friends be healthy and happy forever?”Buddha says, “Only four days!” I say, “Alright, Spring-day, Summer-day, Autumn-day, Winter-day.” Buddha says, “Three days!” I say, “Alright, Yesterday, Today, Next-day.” Buddha says, “No, two days!” I say, “Alright, White-day and Black-day.” Buddha says, “Just one day!” I say, “Alright, when all my friends are living in every single day....

Since 1946, the same electric sign has hung out over the sidewalk in front of Dusty’s Pub. The sign features a cartoon French maid dusting the word “Dusty’s” with a feather duster.One warm summer evening in 1978, Dusty, the club’s namesake and creative genius behind the sign, clutched his chest, slid down a wall behind the bar, and expired. His widow sold Dusty’s before Dusty was cold and the pub then belonged to a small,...

1 “Oh Carl, you can’t expect me to believe that someone stole your pants at the gym, can you?” Carol asked. There was no heat in her voice, yet, which surprised and momentarily pleased her.“My left sock, too,” he lifted his bare foot and waved it toward her somewhat lamely. “My pants and my left sock.”“Carl.”“I know,” he said with a tone of concurrence. “It’s inexplicable.”“Nothing is inexplicable,” Carol said somewhat te...