20
Jun
Being named Charles Brown automatically gives you some extra baggage to haul around. First of all, people just can’t resist calling you Charlie. Then, of course, there’s that annoying song. Let the record show that I have heard the line “why’s everybody always picking on me?” approximately 10,000 times. It is no longer witty or funny. The guy who drew the Peanuts comic strip, however, was both witty and funny. I just wished he’d named the kid with the big round head Johnny White or Jimmy Black. Despite all the extra grief it caused me, I loved that strip. Sometimes I thought the guy who drew it was following me around, just grabbing little pieces of my life. How else would have known about my crush on the curly redheaded girl?
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
Despite the fact I’d driven her to the college and helped her get settled into her freshman dorm room, I couldn’t believe that Kaitlin was gone. Ever since Mark and I divorced, over ten years ago, my life had built solely around taking care of my daughter. Sure, I tried dating a few times but none of those guys lasted very long. Every time I’d go out, I’d feel guilty about leaving my little girl back home. Only now, I guess, she wasn’t so little. She was sleeping under a different roof, in her dorm. I was wide-awake, pacing an empty house in my nightgown.
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
Things get weird when your best friend moves away. I’d known Richie just about my entire life. We’d done just about everything together and now he was gone. His whole family was gone, even his sexy sister Jeannie. Watching their car pull away had been one of the toughest moments of my life. Now, here it was, a sunny summer day and I had no idea what to do with myself, by myself. I rode my bike for a while, just drifting, then I decided to head to the cave.
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
Ed stood in the lobby of his apartment building slowly going through his mail. He flipped through the stack slowly, looking up between each piece to see if she was coming. She was 5F; at least that was her apartment number. He stalled with his mail to see if she would come in according to schedule. That she lived in 5F was perfect; it was perfect because her apartment was directly across the courtyard from his.
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
Dear Thom-Ass,
Face it Tom, you just gotta love your name! A little payback for introducing me to that new girl, Linda last year. Charming move, my boy. I remember it well, I’m reaching out my hand and my very best bud, Sir Thom-Ass speaketh so,
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
Bored and horny, Amy left her apartment. She started walking the two blocks to Renee’s house. Amy would have preferred spending the evening with a man, but it was Monday and most of the clubs were closed. The walk was soothing; the evening enveloped her like a silk robe. Renee’s house was a cute little bungalow with a private back yard that was perfect for sitting outdoors on warm summer nights. Amy hoped that Renee would be home and interested in splitting a bottle of wine, gossiping, and maybe playing some cards.
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
We pulled out of Union Station at about 8PM. In the song, the train pulls out in the morning and arrives in the evening. Guess things had changed since Steve Goodman rode the train and wrote the song. I could live with that. Ever since I’d first heard Arlo Guthrie singing about “The City of New Orleans”, I’d wanted to take this trip. Oftentimes, at work or in the shower, I’d find myself humming the tune. Now, I was actually on the legendary train, riding from Chicago to New Orleans. We’d be “changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee” at about 6:30 in the morning, “half way home and we’d be there” by about 3:30 in the afternoon.
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
After parking his wife’s practically new minivan away from all the other cars, the shade of the mall’s parking garage was a relief from the summer sun. Dave bent down to get his receipt. He knew the store wouldn’t take back the wrench without it. Sitting up, he saw some little black Honda had just pulled alongside and blocked his door. Jerk off, Dave thought. Looking down, he saw blonde, luxurious hair splayed across the nude midriff of a hairy guy. The guy had his tee shirt pulled up to his chest and his pants around his knees. The blonde was already involved in giving a guy a serious blowjob.
Read the rest of this page »
20
Jun
I’d been with Engine 12 for about five years, in and out of all kinds of hairy situations, but this was the first time I’d ever been laid up for any length of time. We were working an abandoned warehouse fire, probably accidentally set by some wino trying to keep warm. Damn cross beam fell and knocked me flat. If it wasn’t for my suit, it probably woulda crisped me pretty good. Bad enough that it ripped up my back and shoulder muscles, making me hobble around like some crip. Docs said if I stuck to my rehab, I’d be back to my beefy, bouncy self in a few months.
Read the rest of this page »
