Chase leaned against the metal railing that kept him from falling onto the railroad tracks below. The bridge he stood on was old and wooden, with thick, hammered-over nails holding it together. He’d found the remote spot soon after getting his license as he drove, turning at random, just to…
Another Friday, another story unearthed from the archives. This week it’s “Lunatic Pandora,” a story about what happens when the sky begins to fall. Literally. First in little flakes, then in larger shards. The story’s more than 10 years old, so there are a few dated references, but it’s a…
A poem from the archives that tries to capture some of the emotions I feel while listening to the eternally wonderful remix “Glow Worm Jim.” In the morning when I wake, I lift my eyes, I raise my arms: What’s the ground to me but the soul’s battlefield? Light is streaming through…
Today’s treasure from the archives is “The Vision of Prince Frederick,” a fairy tale of a man who discovers his true love and waits for her return. Okay, when I put it like that, it sounds rather blase. Let’s try again: “The Vision of Prince Frederick” is a fairy of…
Once upon a springtime eve, when the mosquitoes were not yet out, there was a father who found himself alone. His wife was out for coffee with old college friends, his two older kids, 6 and 4, were asleep, and the baby had conked out in her swing. Even the…
Throughout 2016, I’ll be digging out old short stories that used to be among my “standards” but have fallen to the wayside, unread by many who might enjoy them. “The All-Seeing Prophet of Fortune and Love” is one of these. This is an entertaining story of a conman and his…
Author’s Note – This poem is from deep in my archives, written in the early 2000s before the Muppets were a thing again. It’s far from being a great poem, but it’s fun, I think. Kermit the Frog is dead, too burdened to get out of bed. His agents came to…
The colors rose into the sky, red and yellow and green, up and up, where they fluttered like the petals of flowers in a field of blue and white. The wind tugged at the fabric of the kite and snapped its tail in wild gyrations. The kite, in turn, pulled…
Ashlyn forced a smile and glanced at the clock. Her current customer had wandered in, dirty, ordered a coffee, and proceeded to relate his life story–for the last forty-five minutes. So when the bell tied to the glass door rang, Ashlyn welcomed the distraction. It was one of her regulars,…
Mollie stepped out into the winter cold and started walking. The snow crunched beneath her boots and thin flurries swept up at her balaclava. Her gloves were thin but if she curled her fingers into her palms, they kept warm enough. Her snug house slid behind, her husband getting ready…
My goal in 2016 is to make a concerted effort to post old stories you really should read and to highlight stories you might have missed. I don’t lack completed works. I lack the persistence to get them to readers who would enjoy them. So, if you read anything on…
Bitter wind slashed me as I opened the car door. I struggled out into the tempest and slammed the door behind me. Wind and snow struck my face; for a moment I couldn’t breathe. Blinking, I made out the general form of Wal-mart, lowered my head, and shuffled forward, wary…