This year, amid multiple tragedies such as the Corona pandemic, record-breaking hurricanes and tropical storms, and an outrageous election — the entire airline industry was grounded. No, it wasn’t COVID-19, although that played a role in the many struggles by that industry. Even the grounding of Boeing’s 737 fleet didn’t have the reach of this latest disaster. This came from a completely unexpected source and blindsided e...
If I had one wishI'd be a fishI'd swim the seaand make a splishIf I had one otherI'd make a brotherWe'd splish aroundWith one anotherIf a third would comeI'd make a mumTo make us smileWhen we were glumIf a fourth were hadI'd make a dadTo keep us safeFrom all that's badThen out we'd set, and swim all fourSkimming above the ocean floorFrom coast to kelp to shell to shoreAnd skip and play forevermore
Cal Zone knew he was in trouble. His partner, Justin Case had been taken hostage by the biggest crime boss in the Midwest. Carmine (Itchy) Ricketts controlled all of the corruption in Trippen Falls, South Dakota. Cal sat in his favored 4-door, Canary yellow 1959 Chevy Impala, given to him by his father the day the FBI arrested and took him away for bigamy. Justin was not only his partner in End Zone Bail Bonds & Keychain...
The worst word in golf. I know, it’s part of the etiquette of the game, but it’s the part we all hate to shout or hear. It’s one of those things in the arsenal of golf, like mulligans and do-overs and foot wedges. Once the dreaded “Fore!” has been uttered, golfers all over the course scramble for trees or wrap their arms around their heads and do the “ants-in-the-pants-dance” like they are trying to escape dive-bombing se...
Peen slipped through a gate in the wire mesh fencing, between pink oleanders, and out onto the deck of the swimming pool. He stood proudly in the simmering heat of the summer sun. His splayed feet were shod in sandals. He wore a cabana shirt dotted with green sea turtles. Added to that were Bermuda shorts in a purplish plaid pattern hanging loosely. A straw hat with pompom dangles completed his sartorial splendor. He sli...
You taught me to be a 'yes man'You ground me down like saltI once was full of questionsNow I ignore every faultYou taught me to be a 'yes man'You hated to hear 'no'So if you walk towards a cliffI'll just smile and let you go
A wang-wang-pede rose from 'neath the seaAnd sclobbered towards the beachOn seven and twenty tenticlawsWith a retching craw-craw screechHe flared his squinty nostrilsThen snapped his clack-clack beakHis tenticlaws grabbed man and childAnd he slapped his glob-glob cheeksSoldiers came with their woof-woof gunsFired shots to schlump him deadBut they should have shot his flub-flub gutNot his hardy thick-boned headBescreeching...
Masterful Tony rode a masterful ponyThrough the streets of the small village fayreIt neighed and it brayedAnd clip-cloppity swayedWithout worry, nor hurry, nor care.Then old Mrs Bunyons, grabbed her sack of onionsAnd threw it on Tony's young backThe pony cried and it triedto maintain its fair strideBut collapsed down to earth with a smack.Said Masterful Tony, “You stupid old crony”Your sack is too weighty and fullSo with...
A young ladybug named BarryWas lost on an African prairieChoking on dustHe thought that he mustNever again follow that lying canary. He heard of a race being heldFirst prize was a trip to HartfeldA village near homeWhere no lions roamIf he won, his woes would be quelled. At registration, he met a flamingoWho introduced herself as Jingo.She was quite the forceHaving designed the courseAnd was smitten by Barry’s glow. She t...
Monday Ron leaned back in his chair, resting the back against the side of the station. An old rusty yellow and green pickup truck was making its way down the highway in his direction. He unscrewed the top of his Snapple bottle and drank a deep draught of the amber mango iced tea therein. The truck approached. It did not slow. The fine mist of dust stirred up by the tires of passing vehicles left a residue on everything...
Chapter Five Valerian hits a dead ende and takes a right, his steps silent on the tile floor. The building was not originally a precinct but a Sunday school or something in the 50s, and it has a basement. Most of the walls separating the classrooms were knocked down, combining the rooms to form larger ones like the detectives' station, the tech lab, and the interrogation room. The holding cells they had to build from sc...
Gus attended the county fair for some well earned leisure time and an afternoon filled with relaxed thoughts. He was a recent retiree from his career as a U.S. Postoffice mail sorter. He had spent long, painstaking hours accurately sorting mail, and packages into slots and trains of canvas-bags. He took personal pride getting every address precisely sorted to expedite delivery. He once got a commendation from the Postmast...
Chapter Four The precinct is bustling with activity when they enter. Calypso is nibbling on a cherry filled donut. Unlike vampires, succubi can digest human food. While not their main source of sustenance, Valerian knows Calypso enjoys a variety of dishes. Unfortunately, with energy being their main diet, she’s explained it’s easy for her to put on pounds, not having the metabolism to burn it off. Melissa, on the other...
Chapter Three Michael heads through the front door and down the porch steps. He waits in the driveway for his partner, Vick, to finish up. He should help but he wants to climb in his car and not look back, yet also turn around and march back to Valerian. What’s wrong with him? Walking away from someone has never been physically taxing. He feels agitated and antsy. He’s never been so forward with someone he’s just met,...
Chapter Two When they pull up to the crime scene, a nondescript single-story house, human officers swarm the yard, already having taped off the house. Calypso is the first out of the car, followed closely by Melissa. Valerian ambles from the back seat, yawning and stretching, letting out a satisfied sigh at the pop from his spine. The trio slip under some yellow police tape only to be intercepted by a human officer. He...
