A.G.E's Joint

“Who locked the door to the bathroom?” It took a second, but I realized I’d walked into the linen closet again. You would think after three days, I would be able to maneuver in the dark. I have been here before, you would think I’d remember the layout. I could have said jet lag, but there wasn’t any even on the first day. I guess I’ll blame on the wine again. It’s as good scapegoat as any. I found my way to where I needed to be and did my business. It wasn’t worth going back to bed, so I padded into the kitchen to fire up some coffee. The place was nice enough, 10th floor in Crystal City with the Rosslyn skyline across the tracks. One bedroom with a nice bath set up. She even remembered the Old Spice for me in the toiletries. It was kind of noisy, though. Train traffic providing an almost magic fingers vibration through the building. I was surprised Jane let me stay, but she wanted to be at the Old Town row house, if for no other reason as to keep control of the “festivities”. T...

The scale is overwhelming Rows of marble stretching to the horizon Reminding us winter is coming. It comes to us all. We stand at ease, cooking in the heat Sweat pouring off brows watching the presentation Of a simple wreath, a ceremony of service. It has been eighteen years since the fateful day When the world changed. A sudden onslaught shows the evil of our being. We doubt the existence of Angels But for some it is enough to know Angels exist, And they dance a nd therein the end lies our hope For a future of peace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Topic- Dave Coon Pic- Colleen Keller Breuning Pic guesses: Cool cat, waiting for service, servant!, social, Ginger, catnip coffee

So, what are we having for dinner next week?” She asked giggling from the chair. I roll my eyes. Here we go again. If I had one power , I’d write a program to automatically answer this question. Beginning with the Wednesday ads, I’be been asked this every week for the last 35 years. And there is no getting around it, the pen and pad is waiting. It doesn’t matter whether it is spring flowers , summer heat, or autumn leaves ; the grocery list has to be done. Of course, my answer is” “Let’s starve.” The whole process makes her giddy . It’s like preparing for battle. Gathering coupons feels so righ t to her. The list is constructed counterclockwise around the store, Produce, Meat, Dairy, Frozen. As she strolls the aisles, the sight of a spectacular markdown leaves her moaning in delight. “Ooh, barbecue sauce for fifty cents. That’s mine.” I may be going broke by saving money. I can’t complain. I still get fed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

“ It had been raining for day s” Everyone cringed as the chalk scraped along the board. Ms. Stachowiak’s flowered skirt swished in time with the screeching. Billy dutifully wrote the phrase on his paper, while the sound of hoops and whistles echoed from down the hall. Couldn’t he be down there? It would be more fun than listening to this dead rose talk. The ticking of the clock bled through the cloud and he looked up. Ugh. Ten minutes to go. The teacher rattled on about the sentence being in some tense, present perfect. Or was it perfect continuous? He shrugged and suppressed a yawn. She droned on about how use of language was the difference between success and failure. He tugged his black t-shirt collar and shrugged. What does this dried up hag know about success? She was the one teaching a bunch of misfits. And nothing she said sounded like anything he’d ever use outside of class. There were only two things that kept him interested in being here. Music and Julie. She was trans...

Note: this is a rewrite of a story from several years ago. It fit the prompts and I wanted to go back and revisit it. The cabin was a weathered gray stack of sticks sitting squat on the bluff near the inlet. There were four rooms and a dock on the side. The boards on the porch were groaning under the breeze. It had been gracious of Jack to let him use the place for a few days. They had had their differences over the years, but guilt and shame have a way to loosen these kinds of favors. It wasn’t every day your daughter twists the knife into her ex and made you pay for it. He sat in an Adirondack on the screen porch, watching the tide flow out to sea, like his life. It felt like astral projection , this trip to Kiawah. He’d killed a half a bottle of Wild Turkey and the rest of the case was in the trunk. Somehow, he kept it between the lines and the State Patrol was none the wiser. The breeze freshened. Gun metal clouds were gathering on the northeast horizon, lightning flashing u...

A random post. Did a trip in the Lullwater Preserve. Wonderful.

"Am I Beautiful ?" He snored in the bed behind her, his scent permeating the room. The image in the mirror stared back. Nobody had watched me before. Now, I am watched. The hair was increasingly flecked with gray, but still long and shiny. She'd become thicker, no doubt about that. Belly like a bag of potatoes, butt like one of those rivet strips to let blind people know they've come to a curb. But the shape that drove men crazy was still there. The breasts were the most surprising. Soft and a little wrinkled, they still held their shape. She smiled and thought of last night. He'd come up behind her last night on the dock. She had been smoking, thinking of Julie Andrew's character in 10 who had been dumped for the Bathsheba on the beach. And here they were in Isle of Palms , away from the city that was so distracting. Was he thinking about doing the same? There was only so much she could do to keep her looks. As the chubby arms surrounded her, he ...