Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Saturday, May 8, 2021

Breakfast at the Pollyanna Café

The Pollyanna sits along the main drag in a small town near the river. It caters to the locals, although there are a number of travelers who stop in, charmed by the painting on the front window of a giant Polly parrot on a brass perch. Weekdays the counter is lined with folks from sunrise on – there... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 9:53 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

CAROUSEL - (from the file)

Long arched ivory necks of horses prancing nowhere the gilding's gone but for a few flecks that catch the lights as the old frame turns on new bearings. It is night and we can be young again on a carousel see all the things we want to see fill in the blanks from memory nostalgia makes it a perfect... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:19 AM | add or view comments (1) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

THE LAST DAYS OF OUR BACKYARD SQUIRREL

Tuesday afternoon during a break in the day-long rain, I went out the back door to drag the recycling and trash bins around front to the curb. As I opened the gate I saw her little body on the sidewalk beside the house. Oh, no! I went to the garage and got a small rake and a dustpan, went to the... Sign in to see full entry.

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Tuesday, May 4, 2021

A poem from the file...

WHEN LOVE DIES There's no burial, but there is ritual: "I will survive" on the juke box rage, talk and alcohol, meaningless embraces, a new awareness of the time heals all wounds myth. Efforts to forget merely freshen memory, but attention to mundane details, work itself eventually softens jagged... Sign in to see full entry.

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Monday, May 3, 2021

CONFUSION - a short story

“I appreciate the thought, Callie, but the truth is, I donated that book.” “You did?” “Got it at the campus bookstore when it first came out,” she said. “I couldn’t get past the first two pages. How’d you like it?” “I couldn’t finish it either. I only bought it because I thought you’d….” They were... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:42 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, May 2, 2021

CONFUSION - a short story

CONFUSION Only twenty minutes into her volunteer shift at the library’s used bookshop and Callie was already bored. There’d be very few patrons this Sunday afternoon, the first decent day in a couple of months. Anyone with a choice would be out enjoying the sunshine. She set up the coffee maker,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:30 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, May 1, 2021

ALPHABET STORIES & SOMETHING ELSE

I had not included Gary and Lorraine's story in the Alphabet series, but it has been with me since 1954, when their lives were lost. It is the kind of poignant, fatalistic story that gets memorialized in folk songs, a tragic ending that makes so many of us remember their names and the story long... Sign in to see full entry.

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Friday, April 30, 2021

ALPHABET LOVE STORY G - GARY

Gary Baker’s athletic ability earned him a football scholarship to Western, even though he was only 5’6” and weighed barely one hundred and forty pounds. He was greased lightning on the field, a highly effective running back. His senior year, MHS did not lose a single game, and was the last team in... Sign in to see full entry.

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Thursday, April 29, 2021

ABOUT THE ALPHABET LOVE STORIES

For the most part these stories were written about ten years ago, true stories about people I met on the job or schoolmates of mine. I changed the names to protect their privacy in case I ever got lucky enough to publish them. There's one more story, one that I wrote earlier this week about a... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, April 28, 2021

ALPHABET LOVE STORY - JOLENE

At nineteen, Jolene Murphy was no dewy-eyed babe with her head in the clouds. She didn't dream of meeting her prince and riding off into a romantic happily-ever-after. Jolene knew from unpleasant experience exactly what guys were after: wham, bam and not so much as a thank you, ma'am. No courtship,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:41 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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