Self-reflection: I’m notoriously cheap. At least when it comes to buying stuff for myself. I’ll wear my clothes to the point of disintegration; dinner leftovers, no matter how unappealing, I throw together and take to work for my lunch (pasta mixed with rice and doused with Cholula?); and paying for a haircut strikes me as equivalent to throwing … Continue reading The Hair Wiz
Introspection
Prindle
Prindle: I like that word. (Hint: Automatic transmission) From time to time, I write about my pickup truck. But not because I’m a “vehicle-guy.” I don’t lust after fancy cars, cool trucks, or the latest driving gadgets. For me, cars are simply a mechanism to get from one place to the next, period. And the … Continue reading Prindle
Carrie & George
Today, I’m revisiting a topic I wrote about over two years ago… I’m even starting with the same sentence: http://undercrust.blogspot.com/2014/11/pre-apocalypse.html I’m going to live forever. Ask my kids, they’ll tell you. They’ve been hearing about it for years. Immortality is my mantra; something I talk about constantly. For the past ten years, I’ve been boasting … Continue reading Carrie & George
Death and the Blogger
It might be over—my three year run. My alter-ego as a blogger, a writer. Three years: daily, I opened my laptop and pounded out my thoughts—stream of consciousness—into small stories extracted from my life. Stories of triumph or regret. Running, mental health, parenting and alcoholism. Bitching, left wing commentary and pointless, over-thought drivel. Artistic and … Continue reading Death and the Blogger
Drivel
Flintstones vitamins have changed. Which isn’t surprising, they’ve been around for forty-eight years. When I was a kid, they were chalky, hard candies. Sweet and enjoyable, but with a medicinal aftertaste. Sort of like baby aspirin. Now they’re gummies, the aftertaste is gone. They just taste like gummies. I recently finished a bottle of them. … Continue reading Drivel
Snickers
I love Snickers bars. It's my favorite chocolate candy—has been for years. I only buy three or four candy bars per year, so I always buy Snickers. I pilfer quite a few bite sized candy bars from my coworker Nancy’s office, but these are typically Hershey brand. I don’t love any of those. It’s like I’m … Continue reading Snickers
Seriously Happy
When Sophie was an infant, this was common: “Wow, your baby is so serious!” How do we respond to that? “Right, we discourage her from pursuing all that ‘happy baby’ crap. It’s so clichéd.” Or: “We smack her when she laughs.” Or: “What has she got to smile about? She lies around all day in … Continue reading Seriously Happy
On Death and Living and Running
This story appeared in Like the Wind Magazine #8. The artwork is the original artwork that accompanied the piece when it was published. It is used here with the generous approval of Brittany Molineux. Please visit Brittany's website: www.brittanymolineux.com, or connect with her on Twitter: @blmolineux. Saturday, November 8: Susan's Grandmother died today. This was a long … Continue reading On Death and Living and Running
Living in 2A
** I welcome feedback... Non-aggressive, thoughtful feedback. ** ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ If I can convince just one person… I’ve achieved nothing at all. I have a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. I have a dragonfly sized drone capable of delivering a fatal dose of poison. I have a tactical nuclear weapon stored in large suitcase … Continue reading Living in 2A
My Intervention(s)
This year I gave up drinking. I quit my lifelong addiction. Or my adult life addiction—it didn’t really start until I was fourteen. And it didn’t gain any consistency until I was off in college at seventeen. For twenty years I was a heavy drinker—a drinker focused on getting drunk. But as I settled down … Continue reading My Intervention(s)
Dead Man in the Surf
Down by the ocean it was so dismal Women all standing with shock on their faces Sad description, oh I was just looking for you Desk clerk told me, girl was washed up Was small, an angel with apple blonde hair, now I went looking for you, are you gone, gone? --- Punk/Poet Patti Smith, … Continue reading Dead Man in the Surf
My Lonely, Forgotten Beer
Taco Tuesday—it always seems like such a good idea. An easy meal to make, and everyone loves it. An unconstrained variety of ingredients, anyone’s perfect meal. Shrimp and black beans for me, spicy beef and cheese for my kids, Susan likes tacos as a vehicle for avocados and Cholula. We all like the salsa. But … Continue reading My Lonely, Forgotten Beer
Stealth?
In a town this size, there's no place to hide Everywhere you go you meet someone you know -- John Prine The whole setup seems sketchy. It's the only place I know in town with its principal entrance in an alley. You park out of sight from the street – nestled in the midst of … Continue reading Stealth?
Symphony of Sounds
This story could be considered a prequel to my BABWTR series. It was featured in Issue #7 of Like the Wind Magazine under the title "Grunting." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It's unseasonably cold, the edge of freezing. The sky is glazed with dawn. But I'm not expecting a sunrise – they’re calling for … Continue reading Symphony of Sounds
Dry
Christ, I feel like shit. My teeth hurt. They feel rattled, loose. Like I've been punched in the jaw – more than once. I'm grinding so hard, my tooth-alignment is actually changing. My bite is crooked. My head aches; My neck is stiff; I'm so agitated, it's hard to take a deep breath. A few … Continue reading Dry
Stephen King
In high school, I gave up his books. I quit right in the middle of the Dead Zone. I was binging: Carrie, Night Shift, The Shining, The Stand, and then half of the Dead Zone – one after another, all at once. I was having dreams. Not exactly bad dreams, but unsettling ones. So I … Continue reading Stephen King
Hi, I’m Jeff
“Hi, I'm Jeff.” Kathy looks somewhat annoyed: “Hi, I'm Kathy. We’ve known each other for three years.” Kathy has huge hair. A tangled mass, a defining feature. If an artist drew a caricature of Kathy, she would have a tiny face orbited by a universe of hair. On this day, it’s pulled back into a … Continue reading Hi, I’m Jeff
The Other Stuff 