I remember as a child standing and waiting for the school bus on a grey and drizzly day, wanting badly to be back in bed and away from the world. I can remember the texture of that day as vividly as anything in my life; the cold damp, the traffic going by with the whoosh of the tires on the wet street, and the bare branches of the trees all around ( Read more... )

The shadow and I stared at each other through the pane of glass, neither moving. It was a vague form, impassively looming a few feet in front of me, waiting silently to see what move I would make. I was frozen, ice running through my veins. The impasse felt like an eternity ( Read more... )

Some days inspiration comes to me as I sit staring at this blank canvas, and without any effort the words flow onto the screen. Today nothing comes to me, my mind resisting my attempts to jump start the process and come up with something worthy of committing to the electronic memory of the emerging global consciousness. Still, the compulsion ( Read more... )

The Grunter.

The grunter is a subspecies of homo sapiens sapiens recently classified as homo gymnasiumensis. It is known for its territory marking vocalizations, as well as physical displays in its attempts to lure the females of its kind. Territory and dominance vocalizations involve repeated loud grunting sounds mixed with what superficially ( Read more... )

Finding the right household help is a disagreeable task, in that while they may seem suitable at the outset, so often they turn out to be contemptibly lazy and unwilling to meet the needs of their employers in a timely manner. Alas, this morning was no exception. I think I may need to hire new servants. My needs are simple to meet - a clean ( Read more... )

Waxing philosophical at 3:00 AM, I listen to the sounds of breathing around me. A loud grunt to the left of me as the hubby rolls over; the soft, sighing snore of a cat who has made a nest between our pillows. The traffic noise has long ago died down in Williamsburg, and only the faintest hum can be heard from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway far ( Read more... )

Tuesday comes stumbling in like a drunk at the end of a three day, sleepless binge; head spinning, stomach churning, and a deep suspicion that it has done things over the last few days of which it ought to be deeply ashamed. It rubs its sore head, stares at the clock, and tries to determine if it can handle breakfast without immediately throwing ( Read more... )

The disorder of the house stunned me every time. Every surface was covered in clothes, newspapers, books - stacks of things overwhelmed all furniture and much of the floor as well. The living room was little more than a junk room with a pathway leading from the front door and staircase back into the kitchen, where another order of chaos reigned ( Read more... )

Tonight goes by many names in many places, but where I grew up it was known as Mischief Night ( Read more... )

We were drinking hard that night, as only a group of seventeen year olds seems able to do. We started atop the bluffs looking out over Nantucket Sound, a group of about ten of us just after sunset while the twilight lingered. Jim drained a small bottle of schnapps in one long draft before starting on the beers we had; I sat there drinking bourbon ( Read more... )