The summer after fourth grade Tanya had what her mom called a “growing spurt”. Unfortunately, the growth was horizontal, which meant she was now fat enough to feel self-conscious.   Adding to her appearance woes, she had recently spit a wad of gum into her thick mane of wavy auburn hair which caused her grandma, who … Continue reading Aggressive Tan →

He stood at the door peering in through the window. He could see animals mounted on the wall, their lifeless gazes staring back at him. “Are you really going to do this?” he thought to himself. But it was Moxie, his mother’s favorite cat, now stiffening in the backpack slung across his shoulder. His mother … Continue reading You’ve Got Some Moxie! →

She lay on their unmade bed every day after work and for many hours on the weekends. On her right lay a brown plastic tray with a mug of coffee, usually cold, and a pear shaped ashtray full of butts. The yellow rotary phone sat on the nightstand to her left, easily accessible since she … Continue reading CRAFT – REVISITED →

Participated in a writing lab/class type of thing this week. The first day we wrote non-fiction so I wrote about the first time I met someone. We shared the gist of our stories and then our teacher/coach/tormentor person, Bronwyn pickout out a theme. For me it was "It was good until it wasn't." The next … Continue reading It Was Good Until It Wasn’t →

Love has a lifespan too. If you are lucky you will know love from its infancy to your deathbed. You will know it intimately, through every season and endless years full of happiness, struggles, rage, joy and everything in between. You are minding your own business doing your thing, living your life and not hurting … Continue reading Young Love →

He sighed and looked at the long white and tan expanse in front of him. He had hoped for smoother terrain but as far as he could see there were peaks and valleys, with multicolored tinges of something he couldn’t identify sparkling in the distance. This would be a long day. “A job is a … Continue reading Footprints in the sand … →

Walter was born in Austria in 1930 with twin brothers arriving two years later.  The three boys lived with their parents in a comfortable home in close proximity to their large extended family.  Fritzi was an at home mother, and Max owned a store. In his eighth year Walt’s life irreparably changed; while in the … Continue reading To Survive and Thrive →

As the landlord for the various housing tracts in the popular suburb of “La Garage,” I rent space to many people and families. The suburb is large and broken down into a variety of neighborhoods, each one significantly different than the others. In one of the older subdivisions, “Bookshelves by the Back”, The Happy Hollisters, … Continue reading The Abandoned Chore →