- Richard
- Tom
- Serendipidy
- Norval Joe
- Planet Z
RICHARD
Noir
An empty cup sits on the table in front of me, drained of coffee.
Like my soul, its contents had been cold, dark, and bitter. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
I rose from the cheap plastic chair, grabbing the cup to discard carelessly in the trash can. Again, the act mirrors my state of mind.
Outside, the cold is biting, the wind harsh, and the steady rain soaks through my coat. Above, a streetlight flickers.
I fumble for a cigarette, and inhale deeply; somewhere in the distance, a saxophone plays.
I walk slowly away, into the darkness.
SERENDIPIDY
No speeches, no reception, no wedding breakfast, no party. No church either, just a farmhouse kitchen.
And no, there weren’t any guests, just two witnesses, as required by law, and the local minister who’d been paid handsomely for his time.
The father of the bride was in attendance, but no tux for him, neither was his daughter attired in silk and lace.
What there were in abundance were shotguns.
Both witnesses and the bride’s father held them ready, locked and loaded. Just in case.
The minister turned my way, asking the question.
“I do”, I answered.
I could hardly refuse!
TOM
Glass half empty
Timmy was a motivational speaker. The corporate hire to blunt the shock of firing, oh so happily. Cuss management is chicken shit. Timmy had a number of standard speeches. His favorite was: The empty cup speech. He poured water in to ceramic. “At this moment in your life make a choice on how the see the cup.” Said Timmy placing the cup in front of Susan from accounting. “I see a glass half broken,” said the 60-year-old woman. Timmy in cloud of confusion gave the room, a corporate smile, that was went Sue picked up, broke it on his head
NORVAL JOE
When Patrick sat, Billbert’s mother said, “Listen. Now is not the time for speeches. CPS is coming in three hours, and we still have the kitchen to clean up, and the front yard.”
Patrick shifted as if getting up to leave.
“No, Patrick,” she said. “I need you here to answer their questions, to make it clear that Sabrina was treated terribly in her Foster Care placement.”
Patrick folded his arms. “That’s going to get me in trouble, too.”
She nodded. “That may be, and you certainly deserve what you get. But I can help things go smoothly for you.”
PLANET Z
I was watching a documentary and found it strange that the presenter was referring to an American aircraft carrier with the pronoun She, yet all of those aircraft carriers are named after men.. It’s long-standing naval tradition to refer to boats with female pronouns. However, the Department of war directives say that chips should be referred to with the neutral pronoun it. this is not to dismiss or integrate the gender claims of the historical figures. These ships are named after. I mean, do we really know what happened behind closed doors with Abraham Lincoln and his wife’s clothes?