Monday, March 25, 2013

The Inner Struggle of a Troubled Soul

   You know that point when everything is going so fast and you know that you can't stop something terrible from happening, but you rush in slow-motion to try to stop the inevitable anyway?
   Yeah, I had one of those days.
   One of those years, actually.
   If you ever thought life was easy, or that you could be in complete control of your destiny...then you haven't yet lived.

Monday, March 18, 2013

A Little Green for a Sunday Afternoon

   Friends, James and Antonio grabbed their sunflower seeds and gloves, ready for a lazy Sunday afternoon tossing the ball around the park, but they weren't expecting to see Antonio's youngest sister, Nicole waiting for them.
   "Nikki!" Antonio called.  "Does mom know you're here?"
   She tossed her ball in the air, caught it, and blew a bubble with a loud pop, "'Course she does!"  Her bushy brown hair helped fill in her too-big baseball cap, but her worn glove fit just right.
   James, who had always thought of Nicole as the sister he never had, crossed his arms and crooked an eyebrow at the young girl, "Did she know you were here all alone?"
   "Ahh," she said, "don't gimme that."  She adjusted her cap and hit her glove.  "I'm with you guys.  You were just late."  She jumped from one foot to the other.  "Come on.  Let's play!"
   As Nicole ran to the park's ball field, the boys groaned and dragged their feet through the grass.
   "Welp," James said, "we can't just send her home."
   Antonio tilted his head in thought, "Or can we?" 
   By supper time, James and Nicole were chasing one another around the bases, while Antonio stood on the pitcher's mound, announcing the play-by-play with his fist as a microphone.  

Monday, March 11, 2013

Sailing in Deep, Dark Waters

   To many men, drunken hours on a midnight ship have not been the friendliest of times--as for me, well, the company is fine and although the bar is closed, the drinks keep coming.  It is quite an anomaly, I would suppose.  But perhaps not.
   My partner and I abandoned the dance floor hours ago.  We had a laugh and shared a drink, but an unpleasant odor from heaven knows where stifled our amorous mood rather quickly.  We joined a party of card players.  It was silly, but soon my money was on the table, and there I was gambling without my wits about me.
   They even got me to put up my yacht.
   I had hoped for it to be a rewarding evening, yet here I am with my dinner jacket in one hand and my empty wallet in the other.  
   My dance partner was the big winner and left without a word but had a big smile just for me.
   Boy, do I hate sharks.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Perpetual Agony

   It was a heavily overcast day.
   That morning's thunder storm had rattled everyone in the family.
   The mother and father were lying in bed, holding one another, when their children ran screaming into the master bedroom.
   The mother caressed the children while the father remained aloof.

                                             ...

   Today was a day just like that one had been all those years ago.
   Only...
   The children cried and the father remained aloof.