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Showing posts from November, 2011

Kindness Rev 2

I ’d noticed his shades in the kitchen were drawn and his girlfriend’s red Prius has been here all week. That’s off, must be something wrong.   Walking the dogs tonight, the Prius was gone, and the blinds were up and he sat in his normal place at his kitchen table.   A clear view past his garage, the street and my fence to my front door.   I felt like a glass of wine and a chat and it was obvious that whatever had gone on over the last few days was over.   I poured a glass of red into a paper coffee cup and headed across the street to his front gate.   He noticed me as I approached the sliding door to his kitchen and waved me in.   Standing up awkwardly and unlatching the lock. Are you OK? I assumed and noted that I’d seen Sarah’s car in the middle of the week but it didn’t look like they were around.   He said Oh god what a week I’ve had and launched into his organ recital. On Monday I had 3 teeth pulled and I’ll need to get 3 um “implants, I volunteered. Yes, and it’s going to cost

JJ's Silverlake

Gimme another beer he shouted down the bar. It was mid afternoon at JJ's a local bar in the Silverlake district of LA. The damp grey air seeped in through the velvet curtain shroud surrounding the open door.   The floor had a layer of grease and dirt that no amount of borax could cut through.   Ashtrays on every table, and about 1 every foot along the L shaped bar that took up most of the space.   Jerry, a regular, sat at the far end of the room, in darkness. He was always there when the doors opened an didn’t leave until his kid showed up to fetch him home around dinnertime. Hold your horses said John Jr. the proprietor. JJ was a resourceful man and the bar venture was simply the latest in a string of businesses in a string of cities across the country.   There was the candy company and the sweet oil factory, there was the coffee grinding service and that farm they’d lived on for a time. Elizabeth, his wife of 30 years and the mother of his 9 children had slowly sagged into her a

Killing Time

God am I glad I just went to the liquor store, Stuart thought as the old lady put the stalled elevator emergency phone back in its cradle.   The three of them sized each other up.   Anyone got anything sweet?   The pretty teen with the Juicy sweats, directed her question to the old lady, but her eyes were on Stuart.   She was obviously only 14 or 15, but well developed for her age.   Stuart smiled.   I’ve got some beer and a bag of Cheetos.   The old lady had been observing them quietly, and was now sliding down to the floor using her back to maintain her balance.   She was too old for this shit, she thought, but didn’t say it out loud.   The young girl, Amy, was silently trying to (a) figure out how old Stuart was and (b) if she would be able to talk him out of a beer, even with the old lady and her disapproving expression. Edith hit the floor hard, on her bad hip, and let out an involuntary yelp.   As they glanced down at her sprawled out on the floor of the elevator, she said loudl