"You can't just quit," Janice leaned on the desk with both hands flat.

I closed my eyes for a moment, I had known it wouldn't be easy. "Yes, actually I can. You're not holding up your end of the bargain." I sat down on the couch I usually occupied as my work space.

Janice walked around the desk and crossed her arms, "And you know there have been situations going on that are hard to deal with. Th...

Hand-me-Down Dragons Pt3 - (by posted date)

The gravel and dirt path couldn’t really be called a road. It hadn’t rained in weeks so there was a layer of dust coating the leaves and grass along the ditch. I crept along behind Joe’s pickup as he led the way to the homestead. My scrawled directions were tossed on the seat beside me but I never would have been able to decipher them while navigating th...

She's been with me for a long time. I remember when she was small. Cute. More bark than bite but ferocious the way the young are. She tested her wings and surely imagined herself as the mighty beast she would one day become. She's loyal and constant. I cannot imagine a day without her preening in my shadow and dogging my heels.

She's grown so. Bloomed into the glamorous wretch that I keep close ...

"Wake up, Sam!" I hear Timothy call from the doorway. He knows I'm awake. It's a game he likes to play. I humor him and roll over on my back and huff. The car and his keys make enough noise to wake up the entire neighborhood. "I brought chicken! We're cheating on our diet tonight." He laughs as he comes into the living room to find me. The more ridiculous I look, the happier he is. And when he's h...

Hand-me-Down Dragons Pt2 - (by posted date)

The brick building could have been found in the dictionary as the perfect example of utilitarian. No one had taken the time to put any features into the design and cost was the primary concern. It was here to serve a purpose and that purpose was not adding beautification or character to the small downtown area.

I walked into the lobby and checked in wi...

Hand-me-Down Dragons Pt1 - (by posted date)

The rocking chair was nearly silent on the porch. There was no sense having a relaxing spot to spend your time if that tranquility was disturbed by squeaks and creaks. Dawn was just brightening and it was promising to be a lovely warm morning. Rare for this early in the spring. But optimism blooms alongside the daffodils. My coffee sat steaming in my han...

Resilient. Unshakeable. Solid. Timeless.

We had to be. We always have been. We’ve ran from persecution over and again. We left our homes and ventured to new horizons to escape injustice. And we didn’t run far enough. The new world we so wanted to accept us and hold us close, turned it’s nose up again and tried to shred those dreams. We sought shelter again. In the hollers and ridgelines that ...

The space between stars is best described as the journey. The great space of choice, direction, twists, and turns. The space where no limits exist except the ones you place on yourself. One star is the starting point and the next is a layover. What we do between stars is what defines us. It's who we are. Our choices in those vast dark gaps make us, us. And when we leap from that star to our next, ...

Step one. The glass doors are heavier than they looked. Age and disuse likely making them sticky. The hinges could use some attention. The freezing weather not doing them any favors either. The entry is at least warmish. The tile clean but discolored. The building is half abandoned. Through another set of doors at the end of the lobby, I can see what used to be a bank in another life. The ele...

“What’s your favorite color?” Everyone knows their favorite color and can answer promptly and with reason. Pink because it’s soft and feminine. Green because it reminds us of nature. Yellow because it’s bright and sunny and cheerful.

Brown is not high on anyone’s list of favorite colors. Which is a shame. Brown is criminally under appreciated. Brown is everything warm and cozy. Brown is the soil ...