“They used to call me ‘Old McDonald’ or ‘Farmer John’ as a way of teasing me. But now they’re simply calling me ‘crazy’ and want to sign me up for the nearest rubber room,” Mike stated calmly to the therapist sitting in front of him. Quietly she listened, scribbling notes on a pad before asking…

Cat did not miss the human. Till it came to the can opener, where Cat was more fore-paw and less four fingers and a thumb. Only then did Cat realize humans usefulness.

With many pardons to the late Paul Harvey… And on the eighth day, God made the farmer to till the earth and grow crops. On the ninth day, God made the dog to be man’s best friend and a true companion. But on the tenth day, God looked down on his unlearned children and said,…

“I never feast on time travelers,” the Count told his future guests, when he invited them to dinner. “They leave a funny aftertaste.”

He can’t believe what’s happened to the land of ‘milk and honey,’ a nickname his Grandpa Tom used to call California. But ever higher taxes have taken their toll. Junior no longer owns what remained of the farm that’s been in his family since the 1930’s and he’s packed everything onto the only possession left, their truck.  Slowly,…

“Come, gather ‘round kids,” Grandpa called. “Your mama says you got time for one more story before bed.” Nine children scramble for a spot closest to the old man’s rocking chair; the best seat in the house when he’s not in it. They are immediately quiet as they wait for him to begin. “In the…

Originally, I wanted to title this piece, “Shit Cops Say,” but it’s still a bit to serious for that yet… As I was exiting a store late yesterday morning, I saw a young man beating on a frail older man. Later, I learned that the man is 79-years-old, five-eleven and 160 pounds, while the younger,…

The cabin looked as if built from miniature logs and moss, blown up to scale and dropped in the middle of the Redwood forest. Joey thought he’d found his heaven as he searched the deep woods around it. “Perfect,” he smiled as he pushed the door open to reveal an empty single room interior. Joey…

Unfortunately, I didn’t know Aunt Bernie, as my wife and her family calls her, as well as I would have like to, but I do find it important to acknowledge her life. She’s the wife of E.G. Conklin, the older brother of Mary’s dad, Don. What I do know about her is that she was…

After reading writer H.R.R. Gorman’s story ‘Food Should be Silent,’ I got a touch of inspiration — albeit closer to home… If my hand’s weren’t so full, I would plug my ears. The squealing of the Dungeness crab is nearly more than I can take. It’s so loud that even the dogs  heard them from…