I think I was 13, poking my eyes along the titles of books lined up on a long folding table at some church basement rummage sale, when a title called out to me – Life in a Putty Knife Factory, by someone named H. Allen Smith. In those days, I often selected books simply because […]
Life in a Putty Knife Factory: H. Allen Smith Read More »
An arsenal of fears has shaped my behavior. I’ve been abused and abandoned so many times in my life that I always feel betrayed, powerless, and vulnerable. I can’t shake the belief that I’ve been deprived of true love along the way, so when I do manage relationships, I see myself as flawed and unwanted.
The Psychic Vampire Read More »
Billy grew up watching his home deteriorate. Behind a veneer of nonchalant plastic prosperity, creeping damp and dry rot spread relentlessly. Every possible creature comfort populated the interior: colour TVs, soft furnishings, wardrobes crammed with flashy clothes. Yet behind it all, the walls crumbled and flowered with fungus. The wallpaper reeled and peeled, its jagged
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Mitch bit into another slice of pizza and took a guess at who would win the BBQ Pitmasters episode he was watching. The judges awarded the grand prize to a team from Georgia. Mitch muttered, “I knew it.” He hoisted himself off of the sofa and headed toward the kitchen for another beer. He was
Running from Death Read More »
The African grey parrot began rocking back and forth in its cage when it saw the Golden Retriever enter the kitchen. The dog trotted over to an unattended skillet of bacon that was popping and splattering hot oil all over the counter. Another six pieces of bacon sat cooling on a plate next to the
Yesterday, had I been a millionaire able to hire a gardener or two, I — I still would have knelt in the earth and brushed back the crunchy leaves, to see, touch, oh! green shoots of new garlic. Yes, pruned scratchy rose bushes sucked blood from my thorn-stabbed thumb; cut back the lower aspen branches, plucked
Millionaire’s Spring Delight Read More »