“Jus’ be careful when you go down by the creek.” “Is the water deep?” “No.” “Fast, then?” “Don’t think so.” “Cold?” “Probably.” “Then why the warning?” “The salamander.” “You’ve got to be kidding?!” “No, I’m not.” “Okay.” That damned salamander was twice the size of a gator and it swallowed him in one gulp.

Manny and Julio tucked themselves under the awning to the left of the school doors, where it was the darkest. This is where they did business most nights and were waiting for their next customer. Across the street and catty-corner from the school came a lone figure; a woman in a short dress, cut above…

Filled with slot canyons, Capitol Reef National Park lives in the south-central Utah desert. I love exploring slot canyons. Experienced slot-monkeys know to tell someone where they’re going and to never go alone. Breaking both rules, I went in with only my day-pack. Now, should I come to a fork, I’ll pick either left or…

Finally, I rid myself of all those rejection notices accumulated over the years by shredding them. I had another plan for them, but then I remembered being eleven. Mom and Dad collected Green Stamps. With sheets of stamps about the house, I decided to use a few to redecorated my half of the bedroom that…

As a kid, he was fascinated with two things: stories about ghosts and the Marine Corps. While he grew out of the ‘ghost’ phase of childhood, he fulfilled his dream of becoming ‘One of the Few,’ graduating from boot camp in late 2002. Two years later, the Lance Corporal stood his ground with his ‘battle buddies’…

Not only did he murder them using an ax, then chop them to pieces, scattering their body parts, he beat and raped them. And while the cops investigated Lulubelle’s disappearance as a possible victim to the man now dubbed, ‘The Axe Man,’ no evidence was ever found. Slowly, Toby amassed more and more information. He…

Throughout his twelve short and unexciting 12 -years of life, Toby Blodgett, slang for Tobermory, had always wanted to be a murder cop, a homicide investigator, and at the very least, an armchair detective. And happily for him, his father, a pipe-fitter, had little understanding of the computer, the world of Internet, its world-wide-web and…

Go ahead, say ‘new normal’ again.

Way too much of this, A bit too much of that, Not enough in between Left my waters muddled. And not a drop was had. So what the hell gives! Shit that is head-trapped, Bouncing from ear-to-ear, Top to bottom inside-out. Maybe those bad memories. Perhaps not enough sleep. Must write it all down.

The old man ignored the comments: “As they made me ready, a riot broke out, fire, destruction, killing. It was prisoners attacking and ending the camp, giving death to the guards and others that had power.” “What is ‘riot?’ a girl-child asked from the row closest to the old man’s knee. “It is violence made…