We enter our lives naked, free of everything...except expectations. We were saddled with dreams, with ancestry, with the expectations of a new generation able to fix all the mistakes left for us, with the state of affairs as they stood that day, and most of all, with the happiness of an entire family on our tiny shoulders. Had our health failed quickly, the family would've been devastated; but as our lives continues, as we grew and had dreams of our own...we had to reconcile in our minds all…

Back in the late nineties, I went to visit my best friend, a woman in her seventies named Val. We used to burn the midnight oil with coffee, flavored creamer and cigarettes,

occasionally drinking White Russians or cheap champagne. She lived downtown, right on

the edge of the good part of downtown and the bad part of downtown,

blurry lines for sure. One night of visiting, I had to park a block

away from her building, you see, I had a restraining…

Wow, Dr. Ramsey is following me, or worse chasing me. Out of nowhere, now that I have been keeping an eye out for the Mysterious Dr. Ramsey, this individual seems to be everywhere I look. In my line of work, I get questions from different people from all walks of life and one just popped up on my email from a gentleman (or lady)…

One day the kid who blew sandspurs got hit by a car on the highway and they had to put a plate in his head. I thought that was pretty weird. I figured a saucer maybe, but a plate’s kind of big for your head. Later I saw him with the side of his head shaved and a big red scar, and his head did bulge out a little, but it looked more like a saucer – they just…

Facebook is simply phenomenal! Without it, you never would have be-friended me, but I’m so glad you did, because it’s just been too long since we caught up with each other’s lives. Seems like forever ago that we were traveling together, kicking back at the bar, and eating cheap pizza…

I have a story or two or three that I am bouncing around, trying to figure out which one would be the best for the contest. My fears are if I my choice is the wrong one, I might be disappointed in the outcome. Plus what if the one I like best, others like the 2…

Jacob sat under the gorgeous sky and then the bird arrived and began looking at him. That is when Jacob thought that this might be a special moment, a moment where spirit was trying to speak to him through the bird somehow. What a matter of providence this would be and what a special sign of something or other. In an instant though…

I knew it was coming, but found myself totally unprepared and uneducated; A drug test - for the new short-time, part-time, temporary position; Don't laugh.

With the required printed form in hand, I politely signed in, provided identification - twice, and agreed to some form stating I was aware of a privacy policy.

Then, it was time - to pee into that cup; how hard could it be?…

My absolute idea of beautiful was Rachel Ward. I loved her olive skin, brown eyes, thick dark hair; her voice was the delicate tapping of fingernails on polished granite. I envied her long lean body that moved like a tiger with all the time in the world, or seemed to. To her perfection I'd compare my pale freckled skin, green eyes, and spider web wisps of reddish brown hair; my voice was too high and I was too short. Since Rachel I've embraced new…

When on vacation in the summer months I wear less makeup, less clothing, less of who I am at home. I have a "self" with a certain standard when I'm anywhere but on vacation. Clothes, make-up, hair, jewelry, shoes -- they're a form of presentation; the choices range from Walmart t-shirts and a ball cap to a well-polished look, but the make-up stays pretty much the same. I've wondered if women lie with make-up, since most men don't wear any, then I try to justify its use by thinking…

A Traveler becomes weary, her vision skewed at dusk. The murder still hovers, creating waves, an ominous vibe. She struggles through the dense

fog, but cannot differentiate the vacant stares. Consumed, her eyes are drawn up to meet the

feathery horde. Then—a screeching halt—not

an utterance until the caws commence. The

sirens drone off in the distance; now the black cloud will never…

The day was bleak from its inception as the crowds had gathered the night before. A few clerks scanned the sea of desperate soured faces, full of ephemeral desires. A managerial voice on the intercom informed the

clerks it was almost time to open. One man, Jdimytai, fought to secure the

doors until the final command was given.

As he stood there on the cusp of a moment he could not foresee it is a

wonder to imagine…