Country Dog in the City

“What’s that noise?” Country dog stood on the back of the couch, scanning the street from the picture window while city dog lay curled in the couch corner. “Huh?” “Did you hear it?  Car! Car and walker! Both out there. Right there!” “Oh yeah?” City dog yawned and stretched before coming to take a look.… Continue reading Country Dog in the City

Homework

  Ever try to capture and vaccinate a feral kitten? It scratches, hides and pathetically meows just like an 8-year-old boy doing homework. I need this kitten to write some Ohio Facts, each one in a different color. “Here. Start with red.” The color of rage. He writes the first one and starts the second… Continue reading Homework

Flash Fiction: Concucombine

“She’s a real beauty.” “Your ex wife?” “No, you idiot. The tractor. You’ll see her right before the stop sign on 162. That fucking moron bolted his name onto it. Like that makes it his.” The man’s grease-encased fingers were counting off fifties. Five hundred each, which happened to be more than one of the… Continue reading Flash Fiction: Concucombine

Incendiary

I stayed quiet when the people in uniforms asked, “Are you okay?” because eventually they asked, “Do you know what happened?” I knew. There was uncle Ricky’s fight with the neighbor about the car. Cody and Ray wanted their money back, but the landlord wanted his too. And mom just wanted a man who would… Continue reading Incendiary

Perceived Threat

“I think your son risks becoming a social pariah.” Her tone betrays the rehearsal of this sentence. “Can you give me some specifics about that?” “We can discuss it at the conference, but I strongly recommend he see a neurologist.” I get off the phone, not bothering to tell her we’ve seen three neurologists. Obviously,… Continue reading Perceived Threat