Semi-Daily Scribbles
Carving out a corner to post random crap.
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Category: Storytelling
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It is the smell of coffee that reminds me of fishhooks and big, fat night crawlers. My family had a large compost bin when I was a kid, which we called 'the worm box.' Eggshells, wilted lettuce, grass clippings, tealeaves, and coffee grounds. These were the items tossed and turned in the kitchen scrap heap…
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Karla's grandmother served oyster stew every Christmas Eve in her harvest gold Limoges tureen. Karla loved the porcelain vessel, and hated its contents. Oysters were disgusting. The bivalves defiled the delicate china with its daisy and wheat motif. She always tried to decline the ladle of gray blobs floating in a buttery broth of milk,…
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The fancy black cardstock on my plate read Gerald. I thought it a perfectly fine appellation, and repeated it a few times to get the feel of it. The maître d’hôtel escorted me to this exact spot among the other attendees, so I didn't question the possibility of a mistake having been made. What’s in…
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Franny walked up to the mailbox with the letter she'd spent three days composing. In her sturdy, tight handwriting, Franny explained why she could no longer be with Edna. They had been inseparable for 17 years, but the relationship had always clung to the edge of despair. Edna would slip, as she called it, and…
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We did have an argument over doors, didn't we? I don't remember what got us to that stage, but I walked in, you ran out, and wood was slammed against wood. No kind exchanges passed between us for a long time afterward. I'll admit my hospitality has been lacking of late. In fact, I've been…
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The Whistling Biscuit had seen its days of long lines and painted ladies reduced to a pile of bricks. This had been the spot where eager beavers waited months to eat alongside luminaries or, on the off night, the B Team. At any rate, a generous tip given to the doorman could allow one entrance…
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It was the openness Helen dreaded. She kept her cards close to her chest, and did not like people poking about in her business. Helen felt her professionalism and excellent attendance was all an employer should expect of her. Why, then, did she have to attend these horrible leadership courses where they made you act…
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It wasn't the daring act of crossing the globe that troubled Frederick. He needed to leave behind the fractured allegiance and hollow sympathy of his family. They didn't like his artist's heart; he didn't understand their dispassionate love. An ocean divided the generations that sat around the old oak table. No, what brought disquiet upon…
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Amelia felt blocked. She was dry as a bone. Nothing was coming, and she was beginning to fear that nothing would ever come her way again. Was bad luck dogging her every step? She couldn’t understand why. She was an adept rule follower, law abider, and dutiful daughter. That had to count for something. Amelia…
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Grandpa pelted me with many pearls of wisdom when I was a kid. His lessons and occasional swearing were meant to toughen me up, and prepare me for the rigors of adulthood. "Take no guff unless you're giving it.""Pigs and pity have a way of digging up what you want kept hidden.""Saying yes more often…
Semi-Daily Scribbles 