BEST JOB I EVER HAD Upon reporting aboard the USS Orion, I was assigned immediately to the X Division. New sailors always ended up there if you were just graduated from bootcamp or school right after bootcamp. X Division gave one a chance to get acquainted with the routine of shipboard duty and find out … More Early days on the Submarine Tender, USS Orion (AS-18)
My favorite target in the middle of night is Polaris. I shoot my line of sight upward and toward the North. I only know the direction from familiar objects; my house setting, the road layout, the gaps in the trees blocking the horizon. From these clues I swing my binocular vision and lock onto that … More Where the Mind Goes
BLACKFISH CREEK Sarah in the kitchen singing, Roger rumbles through lugging a crate of veggies, Do you want tea? Yes please, I’m making black, Oh, good… Roger rumbles past – carrying a box of veggies, Sit outside – the table is nice, I can’t see the table…I go anyway, Nadine is a statue – learning … More Blackfish Creek
I picked up a book that I’d read a million years ago. I sat in my chair with the local classical music station turned on and settled in. That lasted about two minutes; the words on the page stirred my juice so; a froth of ideas poured forth. My mind raced to keep up and … More Premise: an exercise for fun.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer#Early_history Basically, that’s it. Asking a higher power to grant Acceptance, courage to Change, and Wisdom. Pretty simple, eh? Not so fast, my friend. Back up a bit. … More The Serenity Prayer
This is so funny to me at this very moment. Content Warning: Swear words. You have been warned. https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/its-decorative-gourd-season-motherfuckers
Don’t Linger You enter the arena, Catching sight of the plaintiff you Shift your posture, Begin to exaggerate your walk, Longer bouncing steps with Arms swinging, your face Grinning to taunt. The beast in watchful repose, Eyes focused and tracking, Body poised, Belying coiled energy, Wanting to spring and kill, Not right now, Not this … More Don’t Linger
The work being done to promote the Paleo Diet has uncovered a terrible connection between the people of two-and-a-half million years ago and today. Someone, we know not who, took it upon themselves to delve deeper into the familial identities of the bones used to determine the diet of those long ago neighbors with some … More Frightening Factoid
RAIN ON LEATHER Northampton, Massachusetts in the early Fifties was a small, forgotten city half-way between Boston and upstate New York. Farm land, some industry, now families who have survived the losses of the area and the westward movement of technology and manufacturing. An economic decline began around this time that was tied to the … More It’s Fair Season. Ergo I Submit this Story.
One of my very favorite stories. The dialog is masterful. Tobias Wolff! It holds my attention like no other. I’ve posted this before, I think. No matter. Please enjoy the way this writer paints a picture with a story inside. G.M. Goodwin 19 September 2019 Tobias Wolff’s short story, “Bullet in the Brain” Reprinted by … More “Bullet in the Brain”
Playing Fair and Being Kind 