Timothy D. McLendon Sweat was trickling from the crack of my ass all the way down to my socks. My feet were rapidly drowning while my toes performed an annoying rendition of water ballet. Even the thermometer atop the concession stand behind me was sweating tiny beads of scalding mercury. My daughter and I had [...]
Yearly Archives: 2004
When Pacino’s Hot, I’m Hot by Robert Levin
by Robert Levin Blanche Dubois always depended on the kindness of strangers. Me, I’ve always depended on strangers thinking I’m someone else. I’m referring, in my case anyway, to getting sex.
Crows Feet (page 3) by W.A. Smith
By the time the joint is half-gone, Taylor is a believer. It is killer weed. He recalls his rookie year when the sergeant lit some in a training class so they could smell it ‘ all the jokes, eyeballs rolling, dope-crazed pinko/hippie perpetrators listening to the sergeant briefing them on the properties and peculiar effects [...]
Crows Feet (page 2) by W.A. Smith
Floating beside the bed, leaning toward him, dreary artificial light around her. Makes her stand out, a vision. If she’s here, then it’s real. ‘Pauli?” he whispers. “Who else would it be?” She’s gentle and sturdy, something like a smile on her face. ‘You been dreamin’ of somebody I don’t know about?” “Yeah,” he says. [...]
Crow’s Feet by W.A. Smith
by W.A. Smith Taylor Means does not consider his own little narrative to be anything unique: he’s lived in Atlanta all his life, there’s no secret wealth in his attic, no bodies buried in his basement; he’s a quiet guy, moderate mostly ‘ doesn’t even think about cheating on his wife. He’s just a cop [...]
In the Realm of Mercy by Karima Alavi
by Karima Alavi It’s my last Friday ‘Muslim day of communal prayer’ in Iran. After a twenty-six year absence from the country, my first return is coming to a close. I gaze out the window that overlooks the city of Shiraz and I’m filled with memories of my time here as an exchange student. Raw [...]
Beating Small Town Odds: An interview with Jason Headley by Lonnie Martin
by Lonnie Martin From ad man to rock band, Jason Headley has always found himself doing the unexpected, but no role he’s played has been as exciting to him as that of soon-to-be published author. On October 1, his debut novel, Small Town Odds, is released nationwide.
You Poison Like a Girl by Gabriella Herkert
by Gabriella Herkert There are so many cool ways to knock people off. You have to have a natural bent toward the dark side, of course, but the methodology appeals to the airier, more creative brain cells. Since I didn’t want to get famous under the heading stupid criminals, I knew I’d have to carefully [...]
Reign of Haunting by Lonnie Martin
by Lonnie Martin This is where I am from, the place of my father’s birth. It sits on the edge of a valley, surrounded by mountains older than the generations that have lived and died in a land claimed as their own. I was not born here, nor was I conceived here, nor did I [...]
I don’t like Thursdays: Why Thanksgiving is for Turkeys by Amy Czechorosky
by Amy Czechorosky Last weekend the little flyers started coming with my deliveries of the Los Angeles Times. They all say the same thing: ‘There is no Thanksgiving in Tijuana.’ That’s right. ‘There is no Thanksgiving in Tijuana.’ Well, that’s just great. Now not only do I have to feel sad for the people in [...]