tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post3386895152450611179..comments2024-03-15T22:33:20.130-07:00Comments on Unemployed Imagination.: 2 Minutes. Go!JD Maderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-73140453726110158082017-04-15T19:16:48.525-07:002017-04-15T19:16:48.525-07:00Yeah. So true. And we do gotta go touching it anyw...Yeah. So true. And we do gotta go touching it anyway, so true. Probably a flaw in us. David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-67393372893318732542017-04-15T19:15:19.775-07:002017-04-15T19:15:19.775-07:00Yeah, that whole passage you quote came in from so...Yeah, that whole passage you quote came in from someplace else, I swear. I was merely the conduit. This writing thing is some weird voodoo sometimes. David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-63003971196183255182017-04-15T19:13:25.868-07:002017-04-15T19:13:25.868-07:00LOL! "The sound of regal puking." Title ...LOL! "The sound of regal puking." Title of a collection? And you know what? The Chevy/levee rhyme wasn't conscious. I did notice it at the last minute but left it alone as one of those serendipitous things. :) I like "American Pie" alright, and this story could be seen as a version of it, even, but like you, I'm more a fan of his song "Vincent."David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-90902508802315252092017-04-15T16:54:51.015-07:002017-04-15T16:54:51.015-07:00Ditto Antrobus. And this line: "You know how ...Ditto Antrobus. And this line: "You know how they say “watch out, that plate’s hot” and they gotta go touching it anyway? Yeah. Just like that." Simple truths make your writing so strong.JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-61499066819487967752017-04-15T16:51:37.358-07:002017-04-15T16:51:37.358-07:00Holy shit! Didn't see that coming. But it work...Holy shit! Didn't see that coming. But it works perfectly. Super strong story and amazing language. I adore this: "What is this? Who are you? What kind of people can walk on by? Do you see the bodies floating in the filthy water? The people with their signs on the roofs? You remember the poor, the tired, the huddled, right? Did you once make a covenant with these people? Are you not obligated? Is this not your mandate? Or is our humanity lesser when placed beside your own? Go, then. Pass on by. You'd best pray your gods ain't the judging kind."<br />JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-28162853040101122852017-04-15T16:49:36.093-07:002017-04-15T16:49:36.093-07:00Before part two. Love the levee Chevy even if Don&...Before part two. Love the levee Chevy even if Don's ghost might haunt you. ;) And ONLY you can make puking sound so regal. JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-68607808150374745142017-04-15T16:46:47.705-07:002017-04-15T16:46:47.705-07:00I concur. This stuck out to me: "All she hear...I concur. This stuck out to me: "All she heard was the sigh of the wind through scrub. All she saw was a vista of low growth stretching to high, snow covered peaks." Beautiful language and imagery.JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-18934256723810549412017-04-15T16:42:28.076-07:002017-04-15T16:42:28.076-07:00Wow. Just wow. This made me want to read the years...Wow. Just wow. This made me want to read the years that ran up to this final morning.Anonymusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02789241739451534679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-89689506780188399762017-04-15T16:39:57.939-07:002017-04-15T16:39:57.939-07:00Oh I so love this.Oh I so love this.Anonymusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02789241739451534679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-3984212301110048072017-04-15T16:36:56.118-07:002017-04-15T16:36:56.118-07:00Me too. The birthmark is hilarious. Me too. The birthmark is hilarious. JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-85711730116996508322017-04-15T16:32:01.563-07:002017-04-15T16:32:01.563-07:00Love this piece. Want to steal: "Even his thu...Love this piece. Want to steal: "Even his thumbs evolved in opposition to his fingers."JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-90425354696460290432017-04-15T16:29:23.646-07:002017-04-15T16:29:23.646-07:00Thanks much, brother.
Thanks much, brother.<br />JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-81327151086995643702017-04-15T16:29:11.226-07:002017-04-15T16:29:11.226-07:00I concur. Damn.I concur. Damn.JD Maderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-40936074080910391722017-04-15T11:11:45.124-07:002017-04-15T11:11:45.124-07:00Not easy to get people to read a wall of text but ...Not easy to get people to read a wall of text but you pull it off here, Laurie. All about voice. After that, the story with its satisfying ending is all bonus. Nice. David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-65454916316113470142017-04-15T10:47:39.538-07:002017-04-15T10:47:39.538-07:00These characters feel strangely familiar... ;)These characters feel strangely familiar... ;)David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-35531034959106236752017-04-15T10:46:10.829-07:002017-04-15T10:46:10.829-07:00Ha, I love where you took this!Ha, I love where you took this!David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-50837494242540759762017-04-15T10:35:00.250-07:002017-04-15T10:35:00.250-07:00I love "double helix rope frayed," as we...I love "double helix rope frayed," as well as the overall sentiment. David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-27873806131879581482017-04-15T10:33:13.101-07:002017-04-15T10:33:13.101-07:00That's the best last line I've read in a l...That's the best last line I've read in a long time. Took my breath away.David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-36168627063965382392017-04-15T10:31:26.543-07:002017-04-15T10:31:26.543-07:00Yeah, walked that finely drawn line perfectly.Yeah, walked that finely drawn line perfectly.David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-74304939126819588642017-04-14T19:34:32.082-07:002017-04-14T19:34:32.082-07:00Oh...Oh...Laurie Borishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08361627047571650547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-66503347151238927222017-04-14T19:33:33.258-07:002017-04-14T19:33:33.258-07:00Yes! Marvelous.Yes! Marvelous.Laurie Borishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08361627047571650547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-16840407455114325482017-04-14T18:56:30.781-07:002017-04-14T18:56:30.781-07:00He wouldn’t listen. That’s been his problem from t...He wouldn’t listen. That’s been his problem from the beginning. If he’d only listened when I said, “Ernie, don’t take that bottle down off the shelf,” we would have avoided a whole mess of trouble. Trouble like you wouldn’t believe. Like you don’t even read about in books, cause nobody would even believe that you made it up. But no, I saw it with my own eyes. Well, there not as good as they used to be, whose are, right? But I saw. And he took down that bottle and I said, “Ernie, you oughtn’t go messing with stuff you don’t know,” and him being a man and all, he just had to. You know how they say “watch out, that plate’s hot” and they gotta go touching it anyway? Yeah. Just like that. Wasn’t even a real pretty bottle, neither, not like the ones in the museum or in the catalogs, even. You know. That pretty blown glass all shot through with colors. No, he musta thought he was that Aladdin boy or something, the way his eyes lit up, the way he’s giving me the elbow and whimpering and all. Like, “Oh, Sylvie, look at that. Now that’s something you don’t see every day.” Uh huh. Right. You see them all the time. In the horror movies! The one you pick up and say “Oh, it’s so fragile, I can’t even believe…” and then some axe murder comes through the door and you drop it and it shatters into a million pieces. Well, okay, we didn’t have no axe murderer. Just that bottle. And then he has to shine it all up, since he can’t read the label. Thinks he might have hit the lottery with some expensive bottle of wine that got bought up in one of those auctions, rich guy died and they had to auction off all his stuff and it ends up in some shady secondhand store. Then what do you know, this smoke starts pouring out. Oh, he went and done it now. Then this big ass guy in fancy pajamas is hovering over him, and I damn near fainted. He looks like that big blue dude Robin Williams played in the movie. I damn near peed myself. And Ernie, he’s looking like the fox in the henhouse. Already he’s planning his three wishes. He didn’t even get one out yet when the big blue dude cuts him off cold, says, “Let me tell you how this is gonna work. I’m sick and tired of you guys coming around here asking for stuff and me always doing all the work. This time it’s gonna be different. This time I get the three wishes.” Well, that sounds fair to me, ‘cause he’s got a point and who asked Ernie not to go touching that bottle? And Ernie just stands there like a dodo. Like how’s he gonna grant a genie three wishes. The guy says, “One. You’re gonna do me a favor. You’re gonna get me a pack of cigarettes. Cause I’ve been stuck in this gol darn bottle for a hundred nears having one serious nicotine fit. Two. I want a burger. Like the biggest burger you can find.” Ernie’s just about as white as a sheet at that point, cause the guy’s huge and leaning over him. He looks like he’s gonna faint and can barely talk, but he says, “What’s the third wish?” And the guy just leans back and crosses those damn big arms over his chest—who’da thought a genie would have that kind of muscle? Then he says, “You get me the other things, then we’ll talk.” Well, Ernie looks at me and I look at Ernie and I say, “You heard the man.” I’m starting to kinda like this genie and maybe while Ernie’s gone I can take a lesson or two in getting my way once in a while. So Ernie takes off down the street and we’re just chatting away, trading tips about how to clean bottles and stuff and you know, we don’t even notice when Ernie comes back in. “I got your smokes and your burger, now you gonna let me have one wish at least?” Yeah. Mr. Genie didn’t care much for that. He sits up a little taller and says, “For my third wish. You’re getting into that bottle, cause I kinda like it out here.” Ernie should have known better. Before he could even say a word, there’s this big puff of smoke and a whoosh and Ernie’s gone. We keep him on our shelf, Mr. Genie and I do, where he won’t get himself into any more trouble.Laurie Borishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08361627047571650547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-77991248430781634782017-04-14T18:47:00.127-07:002017-04-14T18:47:00.127-07:00Especially thank you and the furkids for the inspi...Especially thank you and the furkids for the inspiration. It just flowed out so quick and easy?Anonymusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02789241739451534679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-90775913288594445612017-04-14T18:33:10.264-07:002017-04-14T18:33:10.264-07:00More tears.More tears.Anonymusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02789241739451534679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-84539201691162329282017-04-14T18:20:43.201-07:002017-04-14T18:20:43.201-07:00Part 2.
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One part of Darla, her upper torso...Part 2.<br />______<br /><br />One part of Darla, her upper torso and crushed head, was on the wicker loveseat. Another bisected the open doorway to the sandy deck. Layers of sand had blown across the rivers of blood and made them coagulate. In all, she was in three pieces. At first he thought four until he realized the dripping horror on the glass top coffee table, amid the paraphernalia of an ill-judged, foolhardy night, was the remains of his unborn child who would remain forever unborn.<br /><br />Shot glasses, crack pipes, and ornamental swords. Beach detritus, abalone, kelp. All driftwood looks like the bones of the world. <br /><br />A lifetime of counterfeit strength had brought him here, and all his daddy's alleged billions couldn't help him now. The ferryman had demanded payment over half a lifetime and he'd ignored his entreaties, even laughed in his stoic face. But not now. He wasn't laughing now. Now that payment was long overdue, and the shifting sands of power had slipped through like someone gut shot and trying to hold in their viscera. <br /><br />***<br /><br />What is this? Who are you? What kind of people can walk on by? Do you see the bodies floating in the filthy water? The people with their signs on the roofs? You remember the poor, the tired, the huddled, right? Did you once make a covenant with these people? Are you not obligated? Is this not your mandate? Or is our humanity lesser when placed beside your own? Go, then. Pass on by. You'd best pray your gods ain't the judging kind.<br /><br />*** <br /><br />He used her phone—the one with the precipitating text—to make a call, and then left the house. Headed for the beach and the incoming caress of a gentle tide. Everything gone. Love. Family. A future. Everything. He felt like crying, but his body sustained its rebellion and even the tears wouldn't come.<br /><br />The yielding sands were soft beneath his feet. He stepped barefoot into the clear waters of this once-bright world, and the merciful waves closed in. David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.com