Falling off the Wagon at the Chicago Lowrider Festival
My brother-in-law is a car guy who likes tinkering. I thought a bunch of cars that have been trained to sit up and hop would be perfect, both for him and our kids.
Short Story: Some Assemblage Required
This is a short bodice-ripper. In outer space.
Passports, and the Fine Print: When the journey is more exciting than the destination, you’ve done something wrong
My comeuppance was sure and brutal. It was a full two months after our return to Chicago that I could bear to tell the story to even my closest friends. I stand here now, chastened and deflated. Go, with my blessings, to the Wisconsin Dells, and be at peace.
Malvaviscos Gigantes: Two Hours in Juarez, Mexico
They were the biggest marshmallows I had ever seen. Perhaps the soft pastels of green, blue, and pink were meant to make these whipped-sugar baseballs seem less threatening. Had they been in a normal-sized marshmallow bag, four, maybe five, would have fit. This sack held hundreds. I looked up and eyeballed the enormous flying saucer perched above. Yes, I calculated, if the command module is hollow as well, they just might fit.
Bass Line Comparisons
Yessimbol, from Kazakhstan, had arrived only a few minutes earlier and didn’t speak English. So it was in Russian that he asked me why the zombie mannequin hanging from the ceiling was dressed in lingerie and high heels.
Short Story: Upselling
It might not be the funniest thing I’ve ever written, but it will only take you 30 seconds to read: Upselling.
Short Story: Three Wishes
Here’s another cynical comedy piece called Three Wishes. It will take less than two minutes to read.
Short Story: True Love
Everyone remembers their first time. The good people at 365 Tomorrows will forever occupy a special place in my heart for deciding to post True Love, a fun look at what an eternity with that special someone might look like. 2 minutes.
Fiction, and other Untruths
Regular readers may have noticed the infrequent postings as of late. There are several reasons for that, but this is the one I’m going with: I’ve spent a lot of writing time recently on short stories. Those first few will rest in merciful, unread peace. But in fits and starts, they’re improving. Any story that… Read More »
Downstate Illinois: Three Children’s Museums in Three Days
My wife and I packed our three children into the car and drove south into the corn and soybean fields of Illinois. We were taking the kids on a sampling tour of downstate children’s museums, searching for that rare find: something to keep the little angels occupied while also providing some adult entertainment.