A.G.E's Joint

  He'd always been spiritual, constantly stopping to   reflect on his life and where he was going. Twenty years in L.A. had taught him a couple of things. Controlling all the events in your life just wasn't possible and misery couldn't be wished away. It crept up when he least expected it to. The business had often made him feel alone and afraid. Every project teetered on the edge of failing and there was little he could do about it. There was no family to support or to support him and he accepted that. But he plugged on. He was back in the mountains he visited so often in his youth, working as a script consultant for a project. The funding had been only approved in the last week and the Production team needed someone with experience in the area to reconcile plot inconsistencies. The director put him up in a house on Lake Chatuge not a quarter mile down the road from the church. On a whim, he decided to see it.  Memories of Homecomings past rushed forth. Stilted gree...

I don't do politics or world events too often here. Frankly, as Ecclesiastes says, it is vain to do so, with only hot air coming out and nothing accomplished. But political change is like the wind, constantly blowing ill over humanity. And almost all the pain to people is self inflicted. Better save your money cause everything's moving too fast.     The circle has come around where a large number of normal folks have been displaced from their homes due to combination of human greed, lust for power and drought. And at least a few of those power brokers are hoping to sow more evil and discord by adding troublemakers to the fleeing hoard. Their hope? To take down the rivals whom they have deemed "evil" in the eyes of God. Which really means they are evil in the sight of the power brokers simply because the other side exists. This has always been the way of the world. And here on this other side, we are of two minds of the coming hoard. One group, looks upon th...

I had a dream the other night. It was not unlike other dreams. Light fog backlit with the sun stretched across a verdant field, a pasture really. But no horses or cattle grazed amongst the grass. Instead, the landscape was dotted with churches. Not small chapels these, but great huge behemoths. Alternating buildings of brick, clapboard and glass with steeples spreading upward toward the sun hoping for favor from above. Congregations of bees flowed to and fro between the churches. They held the pollen and nectar, but they could never decide which was right.                                         Curiosity is lust for the mind, so I floated over scene this much like the bees of the congregation. I entered the first church, with its stone edifice standing proudly, with trepidation.   I am ...

  The church hadn't changed much, perched over Highway 288 like a Monopoly piece.The white picket fence shone with its annual paint job. Portable gazebos donated by the local funeral home dotted the lawn, protecting the dinner on the grounds. The trays of potato salad and sliced ham protected from stray pine needles.  Memories of Homecoming past rushed forth. Stilted greetings, Praise the Lord's and too much food, all to draw the backsliders to the flock. Mom would give him a pill to keep him from getting sick on the road home to Atlanta before they left. But, the medicine never worked. Mountain twists caused cold sweat to issue out from the edges of his crew cut. Brother would make sure he moved from side to side until he would puke harder than a shook Coke can. The car would stop with two cussing parents holding paper sacks to his mouth and wet paper towels to his head. That was long ago. After Mom died, Dad didn't want to have anything to do with the church, moun...

In a top floor office in a faceless suburban office park… Rrrrinnggg “It’s a beautiful day here at Angel Protection.   My name is Michael, how may we be of service?   Your husband is doing what?   Looking at another woman?   Let me pull up the records. Yes, I see that.   It appears to be his Assistant.   She is a nice girl, but a little naïve.     Reviewing, it does not appear anything has transpired yet. Yes, we have several services that may work.   What’s that?   Ma’am , I think a lit taper up the butt to be a bit harsh.   Yes, Ma’am, We understand jealousy here, but we always try to provide the best service for all parties involved.   Looking on the map, it appears you are in winter there?   We have our patented “Angel in the Snow” that will strand his car half way to her house.   Well, Ma’am, his confession would be up to him.   Would you like me to order that for you?   Done.   Thank ...