Val “Why you’re right on time.” Eyes the alert visitor on the other side of the screen door.

Karl “I’m always on time. I believe in keeping to schedules and commitments.”

Val “Come on in.” Opens the door and steps aside to allow his entrance. Gets a whiff of what he has on. “What’s that cologne? I don’t believe I’ve smelled that before.”

Karl “It’s Pinaud Clubman. I use it as an aftershave, hair tonic, deodorant, and when I get a cut, I pour it right into the fresh wound. It does a real good job.” Read the rest of this entry »

One Five Eight

The five of them, Barney, Jack, Bruce, Ray and Ed, stood outside Beautiful Swimmers, stuffed to the gills with the all you can eat buffet of rockfish, clams, oysters, crabs, scallops, flounder, muscles, and beer, in immobilized agony. Read the rest of this entry »

Alrighty, another piece from the universe of Lincoln’s Hoard. an odd one at that.

Abraham came of age in San Francisco, and he loved nothing more than traveling the streets of what he thought was the most beautiful city in the world. He spent countless hours on the wharfs among all the tourists, a chill breeze bringing the salt smell of the bay along with it. The open air seafood market and quaint, narrow houses close to the docks gave way to the shops and tourists attractions behind them, the odd streets and the cable cars. Read the rest of this entry »

“Let’s just play; it’s a basketball court, no matter where it is.” Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a short distance between the two rental properties, one block over and one block back. In spite of the heat and sporadic torrential downpours, I decided to run from the house where my family’s gathering was taking place back to the “other one” where the refrigerator was filled to capacity with food for the next day and after. Read the rest of this entry »

Christopher Brim jerked his king-of-pop white prosthetic hand sharply across his throat and silenced his five yes men. By way of conciliation, Brim (city planner, power-broker, and frightful douchebag) informed the five that he would indeed like to hear all about the latest celebrity expose on the E!, but only after the motion was passed. It would pass; the powers that be (who, as far as the public knew, did not be) had paid and pressured every living board member, himself and the five lucky yessirs, to drive a government-issued spike through the failing heart of the forest. The board had been well padded for their rubberstamping amiability, and they all knew resisting the juggernaut would be special interest suicide. Proctor wouldn’t bow, and his empty seat had been replaced with a drooping plant in a copper pot. Read the rest of this entry »

Kristen’s cheeks flushed crimson until the paired objects of her affection and rejection departed up the path far beyond the reaches of the Vomit Cups.  As she watched Ally’s long blonde braid bounce just above her perfectly formed ass leading Cameron through the lineup of amusement rides, like a rat following the scent of cheese, her complexion faded beyond pink to white.  The witty confession of her feelings, which she had rehearsed to perfection in her mind, had not only fallen flat upon execution, but was heard by a third party.  All company eyes kept glancing her way, a precedent to the lunchroom talk set to spread like a virus. Read the rest of this entry »

Water never merely drips from the faucet or the side spray in my kitchen. A closed tap is watertight, flowing over only with potential. This is the benefit of having a landlord who is a retired plumber, and until now, I have appreciated his definitive sink, where the water power has two levels, full blast and off. One of the jokes we liked to play in my childhood home exploited the faucet/side spray relationship. It was possible to lash the side spray’s trigger into the on position with a rubber band or twist tie, making it a mine waiting for the next person to lift the tap. Read the rest of this entry »

There are fireworks and there are fire works. Sammy Dan knew that, and knew the difference, literally and figuratively. His knowledge was first hand and cultivated over a lifetime of events he could not forget. The fireworks and fire works were highlights that punctuated the continuum with exclamation points. Read the rest of this entry »

Check out my story Lincoln’s Hoard first, this is a continuation of that story where our protagonist Arthur makes somes changes in his life.

He slipped on a clean white shirt, lightly starched, and his clumsy, arthritic fingers patiently forced the buttons together. Today was the first day of his new life, and a tremendous amount of preparation had gone into this very morning. Read the rest of this entry »