As I sat on the Greyhound bus I opened the window as it pulled away. I knew what I had to do, what I promised to do. Pulling the letter out of my pocket I stared at the brownish stains. Closing my eyes and once again being transported to the lush greenery of Vietnam. "Sarge I don't feel I will make it out of here," PFC James (Jimbo Lighthing) Smith told me as he handed me a letter addressed to his mother. Taking his lette...
An ongoing fixation upon life, death, and creation and a bunch of other existential folly, includes some inner raging about the effects of aging and prevents my mood from getting very jolly. Yes carolers are singing and the Christmas bells are ringing and some birdies even chirping in the trees. A branch is gently swaying from two squirrels that are playing... but I am also swaying from bad knees! Once taller than six fee...
A nine-year-old coerced into writing thank you letters to relatives after Christmas, finds tact a problem. Dear Aunt Maude, I hope you had a lovely Christmas. Thank you for the present. Socks were just what I needed (Mom says), and such an unusual pattern. None of the other ten pairs I received had vermillion and yellow stripes. Dad says if I wear them to the school disco, they won’t need the flashing lights. We had a won...
Prayer Denied Kneeling at a marker was a soldier’s widowed wife crying condemnation to the God that took his life. Gently running fingers over letters etched in stone, she wept and whispered softly that she felt so all alone. Trapped inside the moment when he kissed his girl goodbye, then left her scared and praying “Dear God, please don’t let him die”. But sadly, a denial’s how He answered her request – lost everything t...
So, you know what it's like. I’m the prodigal son, back for the first time since September, and I’m buzzing. It’s a strange sort of feeling. It's Christmas and the mood is in the air and it's crisp and alive and pulling you in. Streets that used to be dull and everyday, you haven’t seen for months, and suddenly they have a special air to them, familiarity mixed with newness and anticipation. It's your first night back and...
We sit here as one, just myself and my gun, in a state of confusion and doubt – alone in my lair, in profound disrepair. with no obvious way to get out. No windows, no doors, and no carpeted floors, not a picture that hangs on the wall – no map to express any written address and no phone with a number to call. A place that’s impure, that’s so dark and obscure, where no cognizant thoughts are consigned – this place I enlis...
Broken hearts, it's something that many young men and ladies experience. You will recover from your first heartbreak but you will never forget them. Here is the story of my first experience. Now I had quit school at sixteen and went to work despite all the negative warnings from my former teachers and guidance counselor. I found work almost immediately and away from school and the day-to-day harassment from my fellow stud...
The house was of no significance, and would barely warrant a second glance, nestled as it was a mile from the nearest town on a country lane leading into cloudy valleys. As Daniel Carter drove past, he slowed down, then halted the Volkswagen Passat and stared at the decrepit detached abode, with its flaking front door, grimy windows, and missing roof tiles. He pulled the car onto the verge and left the vehicle. At forty-o...
He hadn't planned this. No one ever planned to be homeless. A few more conscious passersby noticed the tragic irony of where he slept. Directly above him was a store window showcasing a fanciful adorned bed, complete with fluffed pillows, fur blankets, and satin sheets. His bed for the night – a bitter-cold, unforgiving pavement. Those who dared soil their perfect lives by glancing his way either thought him asleep or pas...
Tears cloud my vision as I finger ornaments from years past. This year's glaringly missing. Underneath twinkling lights, I reminisce, my fingers dancing along my aching flesh. I cannot duplicate your touches. Then, a hand covers mine. I gasp. "Is it really you?" Your kiss answers, replenishing me. We drip with need, becoming one again underneath the Christmas tree, showering one another with deathless love. You promise, "...
Seeing me struggle to write, he gave me this pen. "It's Mr. King's," he said, "my talented kin." It fit my hand well, but I noticed something strange. Yes, my words flowed smoothly, but became creepy, quite deranged. My mind twisted and turned, into darkness the ink bled. And so, I published, not romance, but ghastly horror instead. I'd made readers happy and tingly before. Now, I waited and watched their reactions to gor...
Betrayal More than a colleague, I called you my friend, was a miscalculation – I found in the end. The sordid agenda you’ve had all along, is banefully evil and morally wrong. You’re a smooth operator who’s casting out bait, while leaking exchanges to make you look great. Looking for tidbits, any presence of clues from close conversations – to package and use. You twist and embellish to thwart the benign, make the slighte...
“Dad, grandma’s floatin’ in the kitchen,” my five-year-old daughter matter-of-factly said as I’d just settled in to watch the game. “Her foot’s caught on the damn ceilin’ fan again. She’s just spinnin’ ‘round and ‘round… “ “Language,” I gently scolded my youngest before motioning with the TV remote for her to hand me my unfiltered smokes, pork rinds, and beer. “Is your brother at her yet with the sling shot?” “Na. He’s lo...
12th of December – Season 3 Toney had never liked the rain so when she saw that it had seized up last night, she was very happy. She would have hated for the pay-per-view to be postponed. But alas, the show would go on. But if the show would go on, then it meant she would need to get a story. And this time, she wasn't interested in backstabbing or fighting with her fellow F-X reporters over an article. This left her with...
