sitting in the shade of his side yard, the old man wanted to go bowling, but his back hurt as bad as the previous five years. instead, he watched the parade of cars rumble by with their odd bass rhythms, and squinted at the Spandex asses of women wobbling to lose weight on the fitness [...]
in ninth grade, Ken and i would sit on the filthy floor of the hallway damp from sweat and spit sputtering from braces. we’d chat about Altered Beast and other video games while the jocks sat across from us and talked about their Saturday night sexual experience. in ninth grade, every girl liked guys that [...]
before he handed me the cash for mowing his lawn, he’d babble for a half-hour, working his dentures about loud trash men, the clogged rain gutter, foolish neighbors, and worthless television. grass blades clung to my sweaty limbs swaying in the 90 degree shade while i pretended to listen. i just wanted the 20 bucks. [...]
after my 2 and 1/2 year relationship and 7 years of caddying, i applied for a desk job and then entered a Taco Bell where i saw a beautiful girl reading Burroughs and eating 3 taco supremes. my kind of woman, i thought. she had that rare seashell face that you want to pick up, [...]
difficult to sleep with sweat beads decorated on my face and creases of grief indented in my forehead. the stiff mattress doesn’t help either, but the huge fan does, blasting a funnel of air at my swollen body with an electric hum that drowns the noise of loaded drunks, screeching tires, engines rumbling, house wood [...]
i gave her a five and she handed me cheeseburgers and change. i put them aside and stared at the bubble gum sherbet sunset. let me guess, she said, i didn’t give you your change, right? no, you did. then why are you still here? a car honked. i drove off quickly, feeling foolish. but [...]
sitting outside on a plastic chair with a good book beneath an umbrella that blocked the sun, birds chirped on swaying tree branches and bees buzzed past my nose while a gas lawn mower stopped in the distance after hitting a rock. somewhere, a few houses down, an unemployed father yelled at his kid about [...]
Tree Of Knowledge
centered in the campus is a round fountain that shoots water on an iron sculpture called The Tree of Knowledge. winter chokes the tree with snow. spring cascades pipe water onto its rusty branches. students use books as pillows and lay around the splatter like a bathtub being filled. at night, drunks piss on the [...]