Inspiration

By the third step out the front door a growing bead of sweat gathered just above his eye.
It began its lazy journey downward, around the eyebrow, through the valleys of the cat’s claw and onto the soft skin of the cheek above the beard line.  By that time, other traveling beads joined it, a [...]

Read More...

He dragged his left foot behind him as if weighted down by an iron shoe.  The old man shuffled down the aisle.
In his arms, he carried a clipboard full of papers.  He approached the podium, set down his materials, paused, reached inside the pocket of his jacket and pulled out [...]

Read More...

I turned into my parents’ driveway in Maryland and parked the car.  Before I could even step out and close the door, Mom flew out of the backyard, gesturing frantically.
“Your father had a breakdown,” she blurted. “Your brother took him to the hospital.  He’s on the sixth floor.  Go.  Go. You need to go [...]

Read More...

The boy’s eyes follow me around the room.
His thinly painted lips purse nary a hint of a smile, only a telling, a knowing far beyond his tender years—or maybe he does know, maybe he knows everything, staring out from the portrait with generations of patterns and sufferings pouring through him.

The mother next to him [...]

Read More...

I greeted her in the hallway with a gentle squeeze, that kind of hi-I’m-happy-to-see-you-and-have-no-idea-what-to-say embrace, as if words mattered anyway.
“You know?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “I’ve been praying for you everyday.”
She forced a smile and nodded before she turned into the salon.
When I made the appointment, they asked me at the front desk if I [...]

Read More...

“The last year of hard work has finally paid off,” he said. “Your delivery, presence, modulation—all of it work.  I’m proud of you.”
I beamed.
 
“Of course,” he continued. ”This is only regional theatre and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Many speakers make excellent money doing regional theatre.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, sensing a set up.
“Well, [...]

Read More...

The boy pushed his way through the brambles and scrambled up the embankment
that led to a bed of rocks.
Into the distance, as far as the eye could see, stretched two rails on top
of treated wood beams.
His favorite place, a place to dream, a place to explore and discover.
He knelt down and placed his ear on [...]

Read More...

Big John toiled into the night at his desk in the small cabin he had called home for the past seven months.
“So many reports,” he muttered to himself as he strained his eyes to write, dipping his pen into the ink well again and again.
In war torn 1943, the ship’s captain allowed no lights [...]

Read More...

Fred always blurts out the best comebacks.
“How’s your Mom, Fred?” “Dumb as a mule and twice as stubborn.” He delights in the art of cutting others down, without discrimination. When questioned about anything, Fred spews an adverse slant. “How was your weekend, Fred?” “It came after the week, is about all I can say,” he [...]

Read More...

“What about me, Daddy?” pleads Linus, age five.
“You’re on this side, son,” I answer, as I open my left arm across the quilt.
On the right, Camille nestles into the crook of my elbow, her tiny body snuggled like a pea in a pod.
Within minutes, they both doze off.
I don’t do so well flat on [...]

Read More...