Tag: donal

They’re usually poor people, sometimes considered the flotsam of society, always in the way at the grocery store, at the post office. They can’t find their money, if they have any. They’re never in a hurry. They have nowhere to go and you’re always in line behind them, a busy man with people to see, appointments to keep, deadlines to meet. You try to […]

I died from a rattlesnake bite and found myself in line with other zombies in front of a bank  of elevators, the doors opening  and closing as if by metronome.   Every time a door opened a voice called the names of 12 zombies who boarded the elevator single file. As the doors closed, Led Zeppelin  or Bing Crosby played in the background depending on whether the […]

A Puzzling Marriage   Married 60 years Fred and Daisy still are very different people.   All day long they hide their differences to make their marriage last but every night after supper they let them out silently.   Fred in his recliner works  a crossword puzzle while Daisy in the dining room works a jigsaw puzzle   but neither Fred nor Daisy  speaks a word until one has finished and howls […]

Young Priest, Old Priest   Everyone in the neighborhood was surprised when Bill McIntyre entered the seminary to study for the priesthood. He had been dating girls since early in high school and had been engaged since graduating from college to a lovely young lady. He often spoke about wanting to have a big family since he himself had been […]

Remembering His Third Wife   Never speak ill of the dead, his father always said, and his father was a pastor  who preached from the pulpit.   That’s why whenever he thinks of his third wife, and he does almost daily, he never says anything bad.   Instead, he sends himself an email and records for history yet another  evil deed she managed to […]

A Stationary Bicycle The doctor tells Phil and his wife he’s in pretty good health for a man his age but he needs to exercise. And Phil says he agrees and then goes on to explain his faith in recliner therapy. He sits in a recliner for hours, watches TV or reads the paper and wiggles his toes at least three […]

Age Has Curtains An incident in youth never meant to happen recorded on a pad to be read  another time  is found  decades later in a drawer of socks by the writer  who is then on the precipice of age. His reading glasses help him understand who it was  and why he did it. Not so funny now. Can’t apologize. He’s […]

Parents Night    Emma used to do real good in school her mother tells her new teacher. It’s Parents Night at Ryland Elementary. Mostly mothers in attendance.   What’s the problem, her mother asks. Fifth grade shouldn’t be hard for her. Emma’s never had a grade lower than  a B, her mother says.   Teacher says Emma doesn’t do her homework and talks a lot in class. Her mother can’t believe it. Says her […]