We ride up in the company truck, an uncomfortable ride in the boxed-in cab, the empty cargo bay banging away, carrying only a toolbox and a bag of wigs. We have two stores to visit, one in Napa, the other in Sonoma and both include a change of clothing. Richard gets me started by having me undress the two women mannequins in the storefront’s main window but instructs me to leave their blouses on because he doesn’t want to…

The night was surreal. The path led past a decayed log, its innards burst open, glowing phosphorescent green like the guts of an alien. Lantern fireflies appeared sporadically in winks, their butts randomly blinking on and off like mini warning lights and above, trillions of stars spattered the black abyss. It was there in the woods that all of our childish fears collided, the deep density of the forest, the immensity of…

I don’t recall much about the dentist from my childhood, only that his drill was constantly wheezing, his heavy needles ominous and painful and his consolation after the session: a ‘prize tray’ located in the reception area that featured a scrap heap of cheap dime store trinkets and things, fake coins, Jacks, plastic wands, marbles and the like. I half-expected to see mixed in there the teeth he had just pulled out of my…

“What do we have Tom?”

Lieutenant Uejo stood in the doorway of the office, smoothing down his tie, inspecting the ornate pattern of origami cranes in hues of blue that dove down his shirt. Like all the upstairs suits, Uejo was transparent, the cliché…

They are the color of tempered steel. The fat palms press face to face, the middle fingers tied firmly and neatly to each other with grayish string, thumbs bent inward, the other fingers stiff and free, the fingertip pads removed, precise peel cuts that have sliced away all hope of any identification; a ridge of raised white vein - thick as tendon - track up to the wrists at the cutoff.…

“Please keep items away from the art as we don’t want anything damaged or scratched accidentally.”

I had pointed - with a rolled paper flyer - at the Warhol silkscreen hanging at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, a one-color triple print of Elvis pointing pistols at our heads. I had been enthusiastically indicating to my two friends…

I came across this picture the other day and was struck by how odd it was; one might gather it’s a picture of Hitler youth relaxing along the Rhine; sad to say it is I with my two brothers. As to which one of the alien-duo I might be, I think the middle one; I tend to want to see my brother’s square head in family shots as opposed to my egg- shaped skull but then who knows for sure.…

I saddled into Richmond via Delta, flew through downtown streets where homeless weavers - bottles out - lurched on the curb. I saw the row houses - oh their beautiful creak - endured the bumpy wintered streets, walked the leafy grids, slept like a baby. The housing I sought never showed any interest and I took note. Later, I floated through the Wesselmann exhibit at the museum and ate up real food. I crossed the James and…

“Take off your mink coat, take off your muff, get on the table and show us your stuff,” Vladamir said. He patted the large glossy circular tabletop. “Right here… next to me.”

My friend Remma told me to come down to the club and meet her boss, said the club was classy with easy work and good tips but I’m not so sure.…

It surely doesn’t get old; in fact it gets better with time, the music I mean. And they can still pull it off, still groove solid on that makeshift stage. There’s Weir, Lesh and Hart of the Dead weaving something hypnotic, old Fogerty growling out the lyrics like they’re brand new and Pete and Roger still winding it up like little boys gone wild. I could watch Carlos seduce and devour that guitar all night long. Even Neil…

I turned off the television. I turned off the computer, the phone. I turned off the crowd. I turned off the voices, even the sane ones. I turned off the road. I turned on myself.

We lie in bed, Saturday morning dawning upon us. My back is sore and my left arm aches, right down to the bone with what could be a sign of arthritis. My wife flips through the channels, pauses on an infomercial promising tight abs and sweaty workouts; the sweaty thirty-somethings smile, grimace as their bodies move to jittery seizures.“Do you…

Dear Winston,

I’m considering buying my teenage grandson a cell phone. He has never asked for one but I think he deserves it. He’s such a nice young man. He is very quiet and lives in my daughter’s basement. What do you think?

Grandma Bess…

Dear Pastor Windsor,

Am I going to Heaven?

Mary Frances (age 99) Fingersville Elderly Care Assisted Living, Nevada, USA

 …

(note: this may have appeared here before)

Dear Winston,

Next week I’m attending my best friend Shelley’s baby shower!!! We are SOOOOOOO excited!!! We don’t know if it’s going to be a boy or girl! Neither do they. Any gift…

Eventually, someone found him.

I saw it on last night’s late newscast while flipping channels in the motel room. A thirsty customer went looking for the night shift cashier, found his legs jutting out of the broom closet. Some guys want to be heroes, think they’re Superman against a gun, think the guy waving it won’t use it. Honestly, it…

It was still dark when Big Sol walked off the mountain, the heavy Remington rifle gripped firmly in his hands. He snaked through tall pine and tight poplars until he found the dirt road that bent toward the town and an empty mile later, passed through the gray outskirts of broken shacks, the street vacant save for a few horses tied to railings. Further down, he found the doc’s weathered shingle. The sun was aflame on the…

in an effort to revitalize my golf game, I'm reposting this from a few years ago

#1 Observe

From the first tee to a rough fairway to the smooth surface of the green, the goal is to observe and follow your golf ball, your fellow foursome’s golf balls, and the adjoining fairways foursome’s wayward golf balls. You must always be on the lookout for golf is fraught with hazard: water, sand, wildlife, marshy thickets, wandering elderly; it’s a real challenge to the…

He calls and asks if I will do a favor.

“I need the elixir of life,” he says and I tell him ‘no problem’; who am I to deny a seventy-three year old handicap veteran something he truly enjoys. After all, he’s not a raging drunk weaving around the…

My cat is curled, paw across brow, shading the transparent silver sun as if on lookout. My cold is dancing inside my head, a kaleidoscope of puzzle pieces jittering around like legless drunks. My temper is waiting patiently just outside the door, ready to kick in anything with any passing cough or sneeze. The world is graying soot, my thoughts grayer as the blackness of sleep draws me in. The cat one-eyes me and I return…