Driving with Whales and Zeppelins Boring. That was how eight-year-old Louis Butler describes visiting Grandpa Charlie’s cottage on the isle of Jersey. The man did not have Nintendo or Cable TV. His telly was an old piece of furniture with plants and books atop it. Visits always consisted of sitting around drinking tea in the…
Tag: Short Stories
Middletown Middle – Bus J
March 12, 2020 The ride home on Bus J is always an adventure. It ships the rowdiest kids on the longest ride — a 45-minute trek down Old Bridge Road, through one of the state’s densest forests. It always looked like it was on the verge of nighttime, even on the sunniest days. The man…
Middletown Middle / Chapter Five – The New Girl
Chapter Five – The New Girl September 1953 The Cold War was a scary time for America. The big bad Soviets were the classic villains, with their missiles aimed at the US. It got so bad that folks started building bunkers under their homes, which were strong enough to withstand the end of the world….
Middletown Middle / Chapter Four – The Giant Well
August 1863 The hot Kansas wind twisted around Isaiah Milton’s face. His mother named him after the sound the wind made when it came through the front door of his childhood home: Isaiah. It called again twenty years later, and he stumbled through the Kansas plains searching for it. He needed food, sleep, and shade, but he…
Middletown Middle / Chapter Three – The Face Painter
Here’s the second chapter of my grade school anthology book – Middletown Middle. The school with more mysteries than students. Read chapter two here. June 9, 1999 Sure, lots of schools have a ‘Principal for a Day’ program, where students get their picture taken hanging out with the principal. But of course those students aren’t really a…
Middletown Middle / Chapter Two – Unktomi
Here’s the second chapter of my grade school anthology book – Middletown Middle. The school with more mysteries than students. Read Chapter One – The Nickname Curse Chapter Two – Unktomi November 25, 1987 It was Big Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, which meant a half-day of school before a long weekend. Twins Jenny and…
Middletown Middle / Chapter One – The Mascot Curse
Here’s the first chapter of my grade school anthology book – Middletown Middle. The school with more mysteries than students. Chapter One – The Nickname Curse September 2020 “Coloring? Seriously?” Jeremy, the new fifth-grader complains as he takes out his crayons. “We stopped coloring in second grade at my old school.” “Welcome to Middletown Middle,”…
The Fourteenth Ghost – Short Story
Good evening fellow traveler. What brings you to the Inn at Ithaca Hills? Did the fox send you my way? He presumes I have nothing better to do. Well, my friend, you look tired. Have a seat by the hearth, but before you do, grab a log from the pile and feed the fire. Walk…
Remi – A short story about Paris and stolen dreams
Eighteen-year-old Kansas boy, Clark Bisbee, visits France for the first time. He wanders the streets, looking for something he cannot find. Not alone anyway. Clark saved all the money he made cleaning and helping Mom and Dad. He had ten years to make the trip happen, but now three days into his journey he’s running…
The Snake, the Mobster and the GSP
Room 1304 at City Central should hold at two patients, especially during a pandemic, but today there was but one; Victor Dominico, a seventy-five-year-old career mobster. Vic the Brick, as he was called because his fists felt like bricks when they hit something usually a jaw was just two days ago sitting in jail with a hacking cough and a fever. Doctors say in two days he’ll be six feet under, but right now, he’s cranky. He can barely breathe, and he’s being guarded by a police officer suited up in a hazmat suit.