Stephan Bailey: A Valise of Doubt
“You’ve got this all wrong,” Tim Derr said to his best friend of thirty years, Stephan Bailey who sat next to him on a stool at a tavern in Miami called, 305 Brass. “First and foremost compadre, as a person who has known you the most, and the best wingman that a guy looking for a girl could ask for—it’s not a blind date.”
“Remember when Tara and I went to an all-inclusive in Key West?” Tim asked.
“Of course,” Stephan said.
“Well, Read more [...]
A Delivery from Dorothy Jane
Black and White Movies
Big Band Music
Stories about her childhood:
The lonely air in Lowber,
No joy in Charleroi.
Met a man from Monessen,
“Virginia is for Lovers.”
Completed a Family in 1971 :
A corner house at Henry Street
In the borough of N. Belle Vernon.
I recall (those vivid 14 years)
What I want to recall …
An artist, a baker, a craft maker.
I waited for mom to watch
Black and White Movies and
Listen to Big Band Music—
Stories about my Read more [...]
Rotted Orange among the Apple Orchards
A man from Miami wearing brown sandals, drawstring tan pants and a white guayabera appeared large between dead apple orchards. Two turkey vultures pecked on his body nailed between the long grass blades with a bullet. Their beaks had been breaking his skin since the scent stirred the air of a farm field in the eight hours of his death. The body was later identified by the sister of the deceased man: Charlie Snow.
Twelve hours earlier at the Merry Mountain Read more [...]
Captain's Boat
“I’ve been weeping for a mighty long time. Yes, I’ve been weeping for a mighty long time.”
Kim Whistler sang The Five Blind Boys song as if she was in the Overtown Baptist Church choir. She sang with the harmony of happiness and claps of praise. But she was three blocks and one little boy from the church. Her voice bounced off the inside of the boat as the acoustics allowed the sadness to sink into the old sea worn wood of a boat, forty feet in length.
In this neighborhood Read more [...]
Tibby's Howl of Freedom
“I can’t find Tibby?” a rattled 10 years old girl named Rica said to her mother Britely who was cooking in the kitchen.
Together they frantically ran out of the apartment, down a flight of wet stairs and outside where Rica last saw her dog.
“Which way did she run?” Britely said.
“She saw a black cat, started to bark, and then,” Rica paused to catch her breath, “Tibby jerked and the leash slipped from my hand. I’m sorry momma—I’m sorry!” Rica began Read more [...]
David Bowie
—In Memory of an Innovative Performer
As a “Young American” I listened to David Bowie. Many years would pass and I would be “Under Pressure” as an adult, but those “Changes” were for the better in my life. Eventually, the “Golden Years” gave me opportunities to celebrate with many knowing that, We can be Heroes, just for one day.
Ground control to Major Tom, there is a “Ziggy Stardust” in the sky tonight. Read more [...]
The Toil of Tic Tacking
“What time yinz going tic tacking Joey?”
“Probably ‘bout seven…seven-thirty, just show up at Eddie’s house at seven. Hey, you got room in your sack for more corncobs?”
“Yeah, I got room. Wow! We have a lot of corn to rake we get back,” Rich responded.
Joey Retter and Rich Canato were years apart in age, but not in mischievous thinking. The two neighborhood friends were tearing dried corn cobs from the farthest rows of stalks on Miller’s Farm. Dano, Read more [...]
The Three Months of August
Preface
Ten years after the death of America's greatest playwright, August Wilson, we continue to view his social timeline called the 'Pittsburgh Cycle' a masterpiece.
The Three Months of August is based on the perspectives of the ‘Pittsburgh Cycle’ and my personal consequences of a cycle that entailed: separation, divorce, and death. In this matter, Wilson’s ten plays paralleled the pivotal periods of a difficult situation yet provided me with solace to abscond Read more [...]
The Late Aquarian
A Seven Part Minute Series
Preface
Set in 1983, this coming of age story is about a group of cafeteria workers who make a lasting impression on a sixth grade student named, Topher.
The Beginning
The lunch line at N. Belle Vernon Elementary School was a slow, long, but moving assembly of 5th and 6th grade students. Not all of the kids were in line, in fact, one young man named Topher was late for lunch... and the line.
Over a three-day period, Topher’s procrastination Read more [...]
The Lone Wolfe
Winner of the WritersWeekly.com 24-Hour Short Story Contest Selection
“The Mac Dad will make you...Jump! Jump! The Daddy Mac will make...Jump! Jump!" Lisa sang as she held onto the rope that swung over Wolfe Lake.
"Then 'Jump!' already, Lisa!" Terrence yelled while their friends laughed at her from the bank. She let go and plunged into the cool water with her two middle fingers pointed at Terrence.
"Hey Terrence, what does this mean (Ginger and Elaine give him the middle finger Read more [...]
