Florida Santa

“Welcome to Peacock Perch.” The sales lady said to Santa and Mrs. Claus. “Here are the keys to your new home.” When the sales lady left, Santa and Mrs. Claus looked around their new home and each other.  “This is gonna be an adjustment,” Santa said, uncertain.  Clad in a red collared Hawaiian shirt withContinue reading “Florida Santa”

Rock and Roll Lover

I like to sing. I sang in church and school choirs all my life and at karaoke nights. But when the Covid lockdown came, my club nights were over, so I was looking for a singing outlet. A friend recommended a singing app to me, and I signed up. You could sing any song youContinue reading “Rock and Roll Lover”

Rules of the Roadtrip

While traversing the vast regions of the USA on a month long roadtrip in the 70s, my parents had a lot of rules of the road.  You can only eat at McDonald’s, Howard Johnson’s or Burger King. My mom believed big corporations and franchises were always reliable. She had no interest in local flavor.  WeContinue reading “Rules of the Roadtrip”

Grand Gemstone Hunt

Martha and her family were all gathered in the library of Grand Manor to read the will of their dear departed Uncle Frederick, who died just short of his 99th birthday.  In attendance were her brother Freddie, her young cousin Tiffany, Tiffany’s much older half-sister Agatha, and Uncle Fredrick’s not so grieving window Twinkie, theContinue reading “Grand Gemstone Hunt”

Labor Day

Every Labor Day, I can’t help thinking of the best and worst 24 hours of my life. The day my sweet angel was born and the worst pain I’ve ever experienced.  My baby was scheduled to be born August 1, but the baby didn’t get the memo. Every week in August, I went to theContinue reading “Labor Day”

Song Sung Blue

Brandy was enthused at her first visit to the renaissance fair with her longtime boyfriend Dale. She embraced the merriment by meticulously making period wench and farmer costumes for them. But Brandy was especially excited for another reason. After 10 years together she wondered if Dale was ready to take their relationship to the nextContinue reading “Song Sung Blue”

Rewrite

It was a dark and stormy night…  No that’s stupid. Every damn dumb novel starts that way. It’s gotta be better than that. Suddenly, the lights went out.  Great, now I’m starting in the middle of the action. There’s no backstory. It makes no sense. The reader can’t follow it. The opening line is theContinue reading “Rewrite”

Sweet Little Lies

“Mirror mirror on the wall… who doesn’t want to look in this mirror at all,” Grace said as she looked at herself in the dressing room mirror, disgusted.  “Come on, Mom. How long does it take to try on a bathing suit. Let’s see,” her daughter Ashley yelled from outside the dressing room.  Grace frozeContinue reading “Sweet Little Lies”

Accidents Happen

It was an accident. A spectacular accident, but an accident nonetheless. I’m an artist. Graduating from a very prestigious art school, for years, I diligently worked on paintings for the important gallery opening I always saw in my future. But to pay the bills I painted commissioned art for commercial billboards to sell various productsContinue reading “Accidents Happen”

Buried

Staring down at the four story staircase, we slowly descended… step by step.  I didn’t think I was claustrophobic, but as we lowered further into the abyss, I stared at the walls in complete understanding of how someone could feel them closing in.  When we reached the only remaining Edinburgh catacomb, appropriately called a close,Continue reading “Buried”