Because Joe’s refraining from guzzling but is nursing his first, icy, Friday night beer but longs for a serious chug… because he understands that his independent third-grader, soon to be in fourth grade, is eager to impress her old dad… Joe has promised to wait and watch from the Falcon until everything is ready for pickup.… Continue Reading
When I was in my 20s I’d think: I can do anything for a year. A year is nothing. I can snort coke every day; I can date a psychotic nymphomaniac. In my 30s I’d think: I can survive on unemployment; I can live without health insurance. I can sleep in my car. Now, a year feels like darkness where there will never be light.… Continue Reading
Joan looked different in the dark. Her shadow-self manifested savagery and lust. Neal imagined her as queen of the demon army, feeding off the dark energy generated by the adoration of her legions.… Continue Reading
As another gust of wind blows, I imagine them locked in a passionate embrace. I bite my lip so hard it bleeds. I run my tongue over my lips. The bitter taste of regret and envy continues to swirl inside my mouth.… Continue Reading
If nothing else, you must respect the classical hustle; the Roman legionaries signed twenty-five-year contracts, sacrificed their youth and delayed marriage to be muscle. After being discharged they received a parcel of land, found wives, and retired. This is how men (and, fuck it!, some women) should be: youth isn’t a dalliance—it’s meant for raw, myopic exertion.… Continue Reading
All that winter my apartment was a rocking boat. I decided to slip notes underneath the doors of my disputing neighbours. I let them all know, anonymously, whose sides I was on. My choices were random, but I felt like taking some sort of an action.… Continue Reading
I thought I was moving in exponentials. Things blurred or bent in me, like a dance between chaos and order. No. We all move a notch on this sprocket, the specifics of which I will never be able to shake.… Continue Reading
Twice I have heard young women scream when they have seen someone they love torn open or crushed and bleeding and dying in front of them. There is no other scream like it.… Continue Reading
A writer for the hometown newspaper wanted to tell my grandfather’s story and tried to coax it out for years. “It wouldn’t be fair to the men that I served with that didn’t make it back, so ain’t nothing I can tell you.” He had lived through hell and revisiting it with a reporter for some article on personal glory was something he didn’t intend on doing.… Continue Reading
While we agree to support our burgeoning activists, for a bit, we’re mindful they’ll soon get cranky from a glucose drop without a freshly picked and blanched mint and kale smoothie, that naps are needed for brain development, and of course sunset yoga is crucial to maintaining circadian rhythm.… Continue Reading