I was in a situation I couldn’t see my way out of short of calling in the ski patrol, however you do that. The problem: the bottom of the mountain was very different from the top. What had been manageable down below on my amateur […]
All posts filed under: short story
A silly lunch
I could hear the laughing getting closer and closer before they busted through the door of the drama lab, shouting out, “Ms. Clayton, do you want to know how to eat a peanut butter sandwich in one bite?” They tumbled in like puppies, these two freshmen from […]
Inspirito
“I got the breath of life put in me.” He said it slow, unable to get over the wonder of it. “There was an accident. I’ve been to the county home.” Christine and her friend Kathy had been walking across an old bridge on a […]
Flag girl, part III
So what was this flag girl part of me ready to say I am not having it? The part that, as time went on, was so in-tune with how-to details. “Hmmm, Mary Kerr keeps a garden hose at the ready in the trunk of her car,” […]
Flag girl, part II
A classmate and her mother were murdered in their home when I was a sophomore in high school, first her mother, who was shot in the basement where they were both were watching tv, then Karol, who was chased up the stairs into the garage […]
Flag girl
We heard the DOT paid great so we decided we’d stand on the highway with a flag in our hand and rake it in for a summer. What a thing; we’d just stand on a road and rake it in. Our assignment was Highway 218…mile […]
Not a cowboy
Hunter had pretty much stopped talking by the time he was two, favoring the mouthfeel of a binky over words. Up to that point, he’d been very verbal, very focused on language. He especially loved newscasters, with Tom Brokaw being his favorite. Of course, we were […]
Just tell me
A dagger and a boule of bread have been placed on the table. The room is unusually quiet; this is not the standard set-up and it does not go unnoticed. When it’s time, we hear the sharp, clip clip clip as Mildred Bensmiller’s practical, medium-heel pumps […]
The long goodbye
Tactical error. I was already halfway across the street, essentially committed to crossing, when I saw the little old lady. Blast. Another person had already claimed that sidewalk. And what’s more, because she was trundling along so slowly while pulling a little red suitcase down the […]
Cocoa Restaurant, part II
After our fun, we get down to business. We are working in the modality of Internal Family Systems (IFS), the only approach that has ever gotten close to truly straightening anything out. All the others — cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavioral, straight-up talk therapy, biofeedback — […]
Cocoa restaurant. All are welcome
A hand-crafted sign is taped on the door to Jonette’s office: Cocoa Restaurant Come in! We have bathrooms! Electronics allowed! This is the artwork of one of Jonette’s clients, most of whom are under the age of 10. Except me. At the age of 55 […]
Velvet’s threshold
Part I She held herself like a queen, not in a haughty way, just in full possession of her silly 17-year-old self. Only 4 years older than Velvet myself but nonetheless the teacher of her in my Drama 3/4 class, it took a few weeks […]
Be cool. 