Getting Somewhere

For many years my daily rhythm of life involved getting somewhere and accomplishing something. A month ago I crashed my car into the curb on a dark corner, flipped the car three times, and ended up in this bed. I’ve spent the entire month feeling pretty sorry for myself and complaining a lot. The nurses [...]

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Retreat

There were five people scattered in small cabins around the main house. The place was billed as a retreat, where writers could hike in the woods and clear their minds of all the debris of civilization while preparing their next great American novel.
Truth in advertising went out the window the first day, when the police [...]

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Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is what I hate
Yet it’s often my fate
To spend the day
In a broken way
To tinker and sputter
But never discover
How to fix fast
What seems to last and last
I don’t need the aid
Of a merry maid
I need a report
From tech support.
Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “troubleshooting.”

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Favorite childhood food

Crisp potato chips layered over a huge slather of sandwich spread. (Sandwich spread: really just mayo with chopped pickles in it.) All on white Rainbo bread.
Cold leftover scalloped potatoes and cold salmon patties for breakfast. Not the kind of scalloped potatoes you get in a box now-a-days. Real scalloped potatoes. And the salmon [...]

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Ball

“Just take this ball to a full service gas station and have it inflated,” the physical therapist said. He handed me a flattened hunk of rubber that he means to have me use as a computer chair. What century is this guy living in, I wonder. A full service gas station? I’ll bet he thinks [...]

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Ping Pong

I know it appears that I haven’t posted in a few days, but yzed and I have been playing ping pong with the prompt “Animals Are” from May 5. 2006 for several days. You might enjoy reading our story or joining in.
Please leave a comment with your first 50 words about the topic “ping pong.”

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Macrame

Elizabeth wore a long, flowing, patterned skirt. Unlike most women her age, her hair was long, its heavy gray bulk tied back in a low-riding pony tail. She looked like the kind of woman who made macrame wall hangings while eating granola and smoking pot in her hippie-style youth. Her skin was permanently crinkled into [...]

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Peacock

After the echo of the gunshot died away, the only sound was the squawk of the peacocks penned in the neighbor’s huge back lot. I dropped the gun, then picked it up again. I thought vaguely of fingerprints and not leaving the gun here. I should leave, but my feet were planted on the ground [...]

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Pink

Have you heard the new solo album from the lead vocalist of Pink Floyd? It sounds exactly like Pink Floyd. His voice is the sound of Pink Floyd. (Well, you might factor in a bit of psychedelia going on in the background.) Just like Natalie Merchant’s voice is the sound of 10,000 Maniacs. Some voices [...]

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Real beauty

She was a real beauty with flawless skin and long black hair. Her complexion was probably rosy, I guessed, although you couldn’t see it now. Just the gray pallor of death, underscored by the bright slash across her throat. I’d have to wait for the coroner to confirm that the slasher was left handed before [...]

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