A.G.E's Joint

Sea foam dress Pale pumps Pink panties peeking From the shadows Stepping  to the podium Marking time Make believe Command and control Before womanhood Wins

The sun bore down  the worn wooden bleachers. The large, older man groaned and  rubbed his thighs uncomfortably. Walter Murray was here to see his grandson play T-ball for the first time this season. The first three Saturday mornings he had to work. And he was happy not to think of dead people and grieving victims. Swiping a stained handkerchief across his shaved head, he looked around.  A group of parents sat to his left. The parents for the opposing team sat on the other side of the backstop.   A gaggle of girls had gathered behind the fence on the first base side to play zoo with some toy animals. They would march the menagerie up one side and down the other. One girl deliberately turned a zebra into a bush and screamed it was lost . And all the other animals rushed into the imaginary forest to find it. A small bit of string found and was used as a rope to pull it to safety. Hooray! Best Friend Park hadn’t changed much since he coached his sons ...

Fluffy white clouds surrounded him as he drove down 316 towards home.   Blue sky reminded him of Sarah’s soft eyes at the beach cottage. He relaxed a little and smiled.  He must have been eleven or twelve then. It wasn’t much of a house, just three room of concrete block with peeling white paint. The first night they had slipped away from Mother and ended up on the dock. Sitting quietly next to each other, they marveled at the purple and gold streaks stacked on top of each other as high as they could see. She wore thin, white blouse that night with nothing underneath. Small breast were just visible. Her lavender scent was masked by low tide. They knew they should be doing something, but having no idea what it was. She turned towards him, damp blonde hair framing her soft eyes.  “What’cha thinkin’?. “How it would be good to take a boat out there on the sea. Get away from Mother” “Can I go?” “If we can find one. I’ve never sailed, th...

A flash of lightning notwithstanding, it was a beautiful day for science. Rain pelted the roof and buckets caught the drips off the brown stained ceiling, but that didn’t matter.   Plastic, metal and wires in neat stacks on the side table waited their turn and it was a thrilling sight.   The radio was set to that WOFT-oldies station and they were doing a Motown retrospective.             ‘…My guy. Talking about my guy…” Mary Wells, sweet voice soothed him as he picked the piece of pipe. Inspecting the inside for flaws, he found none. Good. Placing it securely in the bench vise, he made sure threaded ends were accessible on both sides. He slowly twisted a cap on one end, working it back and forth until he was comfortable with the fit. Can’t be too careful, you know. He rubbed the threads gently, the emery cloth sweeping the last burrs on the table. The fumes from the nasty cement made him dizzy. He turn...