He watched the trees shake from inside his trailer. Green leaves tossed to the ground. Limbs breaking. Little kids running home under dark clouds. The promise of a storm. Out on the highway trucks came and went. Running their course. North and south with their hauls shaking and bright lights on. The old man could […]

Bones begin to hurt. Walking used to be easy. Moved with a purpose. Now it’s a struggle to get across the street. Feet ache. Joints sore. A limp occurs. Dragging one foot. New shoes are no longer cool. I long for old sole friends. Use it or lose it. That’s what they say. I think […]

He was onto him. Knew the steps he was taking. Leading to no good. Had been all his life. The old man always knew he was trouble. Even back when he was a kid in school. Stealing bubble gum money. Being a bully. Boy would fight just for the sake of fighting. Maybe he liked […]

Do we go to heaven when we die? Get to see our loved ones again? Pet dogs from the past. The hand of Jesus touches us all. Pearly gates and St. Peter and Paul. Waiting for us. Is that what happens? Boy had come home late again. The old man was watching a movie with […]

A candle burned in the living room. Casted shadows on the cream colored walls. The flame danced just a bit. Wax dripped down the sides making a pool of orange on the plate below. Outside utility crews worked into the night up and down Highway 10. Electricity had been out for hours. People called and […]

They waited on a subway train. Down below the earth. Graffiti marked walls. Rats ran through tunnels. A scratchy voice rang out which train was approaching. Red line goes north, blue line to O’Hare, purple line to Evanston. Maps on the walls were color coded. Telling tourists where to go. The two talked of old […]

He’d lay in bed listening to her sleep. Breathing in and pushing out. Soft pops from her wet mouth. Blonde hair tossing on a cotton pillow. Covers on her side. Various words or sounds being made. She was in a dreamlike state. Unaware that she had won. And he sat up on the edge of […]

Inside the pickup it was silent. The two men did not say a word as they drove through Cape Girardeau on 55. They were heading south, back to Memphis. It’d been a long twenty-four hours. It was two in the morning when he called the police station. He hadn’t heard from the old man all […]

His stomach growled. The old man hadn’t eaten for days. Cupboards were bare. Couple of beers left in the refrigerator. Some out of date orange juice. An empty bottle of vodka. No one came to check on him. There were no phone calls. His boy did not come home. Had been gone for days. Some […]

Cat slept on the couch. Curled up in a fetal position. A big ball of fur. TV was on. Sound was down low. People mouthed words. Johnny Carson laughed, but, nothing came out. Just pictures coming into the living room. The cat didn’t move. The old man kept looking at his watch. Checking the time. […]