Flash Nonfiction
True short stories of the author’s life
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It started like any brilliant idea starts– with a pile of sticks. & no, I’m not talking about burning someone at the stake. Although, in a way, the holiday is kinda foreshadowed by ritual sacrifice, a quasi-sin eater situation. Otherwise the birth of some random carpenter-turned-preacherman wouldn’t have been a cause for remembrance, let alone Read more
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First time living solo I was 21. This was also my first experience with that strange breed known as landlords. I find a common thread is woven through the tapestry of individuals owning rental properties. It’s the sallow color of ‘get away with what you can,’ as opposed to the deep, solid hue of ‘fix Read more
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In the primordial state, before gelling into the being I am today, I oozed with enthusiasm for amusement parks. Crowds back then didn’t bother me as much because those parks were where rides lived. Even those supposedly scary, yet instead were shlocky, filled me with glee. The so-called houses of horror were always more silly Read more
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At present I sleep on a lumpy, folded futon because my sleeping loft is out of commission. My spine despises me, & rightfully so. This is all my own stupid doing. I have to tear out my makeshift ceiling & insulation (again), install a roof vent, screen the soffit vents (again!), & reinsulate & rebuild Read more
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[Tale of the All Weather Infrared Camera] The idea was to provide a deterrent. Didn’t have to be believable upon closer scrutiny. But it had to be waterproof to be outside. It would be accompanied by a sign to alert of its presence. I swore I read the fine print, but I ordered it online. Read more
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A recent article says fertility rates are down in ‘developed countries.’ My quote marks, because that’s just a euphemism for greedy nations. Even if one of those countries is China, supposedly communist. I’ve yet to believe the true spirit of communism has ever been achieved. Those regimes never accomplish a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” They Read more
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There are some riled up folk putting stories under attack. Those fearful of ideas, with their twisty troll logic, only draw more attention to the very stories they’re trying to ban. More effective than glowing reviews! If a book’s been forbidden, that is the book I seek. But then I don’t outsource my thinking. I Read more
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Somewhere around the 4th decade, slumber & I became estranged. Up until then I was sleep’s patsy. I took after my father, a man who could drift off despite the quarts of coffee he downed. Just shy of narcolepsy, he & I were known to fall asleep if sitting still. On long drives to campgrounds, Read more
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Curiosity was what spurred me to commit certain illegal acts of my youth, for which I am unrepentant. Sure there might be a different hobby I could’ve taken up, but mine was essentially harmless snooping. Except that time when a friend & I graffitied the top several floors of the Westin hotel stairwells with anarchist Read more
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The Leed’s Apartments got a facelift. It was still the same crappy roach-infested old building as before, just with a shmancy new awning over the entrance, stating the new name: Chateau Margeaux. This was my sister Du’s first apartment after she moved out of her boyfriend’s place. Also, it was where I came to visit…& Read more
Huh? 