The scanner beeped as I ran it over the red box of cigarettes. I looked up at a boy with thin whiskers. "Can I see ID? You look kinda young-ish," I said with a smile. He fumbled with his wallet for a moment and I awkwardly looked at the young man. The driver's license snapped down on the counter and I scanned it for a birth date, not the expiration date, there it was. Eleven, thirty, nineteen-ninety-four. Is he old enough...

As a young man I was a night owl/late sleeper. Getting me up for chores and school was often difficult. One morning Mom had given up and sent Dad up to “Get him up NOW!" I slept in the top bunk of our bunk beds so Dad stood just a little above eye level to a sleepy head like me.  I was having a very vivid dream in which one of the Ford tractors wouldn't start. I looked at the battery and noticed a hairbrush stuck handle f...

Except for the guards at the lobby, I was the only one in the building working. All lights were off. The only lights are on my working area. Coffee at my side as I busied myself on the financial reports. They were needed within two days time for the stockholders meeting. All my attentions were focused on the white screen of the computer.When all of a sudden, it felt chilly and the scent of flowers or candles lingered in m...

Her name is Betty Bowens, though all the neighborhood kids call her Betty Bones, and she lives in the old house at the end of the street with her three dead children. They are dead; she is not, merely old, very old. Her children died of different causes, at different times: hit-and-run, cancer, suicide. Two were adults when they died, the cancer and the suicide. Her boy Tristan, poor lovely Tristan, he was the hit-and-run...

He stood in a large hole, perhaps four feet deep and five or six in diameter. The digging was strenuous, the ground comprised of gravel and sand. With each thrust, the shovel stopped dead, sending a jolt through his arms, his shoulders, his back. Every few minutes, he dropped to his hands and knees to dig by hand. With his fingers, he unearthed heavy rocks, straining to wrestle them from the hole and heave them aside. The...

The day dawned bright and clear with a nice steady breeze. Perfect sailing weather, just right for taking RL out for a quick sail. Car loaded, boat and mast; life jackets; rudder (double check) dagger board (double check); paddle just in case. Hit the road! Clearing the base, we head toward the lake.Enter the rec area and head toward the boat launch, wind still perfect, light but steady. We unload the boat and rig for sai...

"Are you, are youComing to the tree?They strung up a manThey say who murdered three.Strange things did happen hereNo stranger would it beIf we met at midnightIn the hanging tree."~ Jennifer Lawrence, soundtrack from "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" One hand in her chin the other hand is touching a knife longingly, her forehead leans on the window glass as she looks outside of nothingness to the stormy night as the mu...

Our horse herd was managed in three parts. We kept two small bunches in near pastures for riding, while a third bunch was allowed to roam the far pastures and was brought in only when we needed extra horses as pack horses or a working team. Brood mares also ran in this herd. Bring the riding horses in each day was the job of the wrangler, quite often one of us boys. The wrangler had to first bring in his wrangle horse whi...

His presence was as discomforting as foretold. His cold and emotionless eyes pierced right through her. She had been warned of his dead stare but the forewarning gave her no upper hand. She was in absolute discomfort and he was enjoying the control. His name was Cook De’Kane, ‘The Invisible Flame’. A ruthless but often mute assassin with a reputation for making his hits look like accidents. He was infamous for never being...

Peace shattered in an instant. Nothing left for us here. The world had gone from splendor to dust. What little hope remained faded the moment we looked out to our little scarred planet. But even in the new darkness enshrouding us could not take away our determination to live. Hope did not fill us that day. It would not for many years to come. No, determination filled us and gave us a reason to live.And in that bleakness t...

Granddad Art and Dad were the only mechanics we could afford so anything that broke, they fixed. Our farm machinery was all second hand and mostly old so there was no lack of work. The Ford tractors were particularly troublesome. One of the Ford’s had broken down and wouldn’t start. Granddad towed it down next the shop and began the “Fuel, Spark” ritual. Having cleaned filters and primed the gas pump to no avail he began...

He came early, talked to everyone he knew, danced with the girls he liked, even flirted with some. She arrived late in the evening and didn't know anyone around. Too shy to even start to talk with anyone, she just took a seat in the corner to watch. He, on the other hand, danced the night away, different girls in his arms and laughing with everyone. He then looked her way, gave her a smile and a wave while walking in her...

Blindly I refuse to see the writing on the wall as your sweet voice caresses my bruised ego. My mind won't accept the bitter truth. Old lies escape your lips disguised as a new start to our fractured lives and battered romance. I'm led into a long forgotten land where promises shine like the midday sun and kisses are sweeter than ambrosia. Old dreams are awakened from their ancient slumber and new dreams fall from your li...

"This tour guide doesn't know what he's talking about. You don't need to go all the way to the student union for lunch — the coffee shop at the library is better, faster and cheaper than the cafeteria. The selection isn't quite as wide, but...""Listen, I appreciate your insight, but you really don't need to be here. It is 'new student' orientation, after all, not 'new student and chaperone.'""We aren't the only mother and...

He slowly walked through the crowd of people, his eyes roving everywhere. He had expected there to be more noise from the crowd, more jeers and ugly insults hurled, but they were silent and watching him, moving aside without saying a word, too scared to touch or be anywhere near him, as if he were a leper. As he ascended the stairs of the platform he had to hold the railing to stop himself from tripping over and making a...