Uncle shook his head sideways and asked, “Any idea where the hell they could be?” Then he clucked his tongue and his young gelding moved forward onto the trail. I followed along behind him, saying nothing. I had long come to realize that Uncle was asking himself more than anyone else a question and the…

After leaving the Marine Corps, I found myself obsessing over why I had lived and why others died. My obsession took the form of writing a few stories in which I was killed. It was my way of coping, until I finally got up enough courage to ask for help.  I eventually learned this was “survivors guilt.”…

It was jus’ sitting in the sandy earth as I walked by it. At first, I thought it was a piece of plastic or perhaps colored glass or maybe a bit of ceramic. I picked it up, discovering it was a rock. Its layers of color jus’ didn’t look natural, especially the light blue one.…

After visiting Dad’s grave in the national cemetery, I decided to drive up the road to the row of old barracks. I had been there once before and was looking forward to visiting the grounds again. Barracks Row as it is locally known was home to the 10th Regiment of Cavalry. They were composed of Black…

I blew into my cupped hands, and then rubbed them together to help shake off the early morning chill. The fog was hanging low to the ground and it added to my sense of cold as I waited for my VW Bug to warm up. I had a ninety-seven mile trip to make on U.S.…

I heard the call, “Corpsman,” and I came rushing to the aid of the stricken Lance Corporal. He was shot through the calf of his right leg as he worked to deepen the fighting hole we now found ourselves huddled in. Also in the hole, which was more of a trench, was a Corporal. The…

Every school day, I rode the bus to Del Norte High School. And nearly everyday for two-years, I watched as Susie Robison got on the bus at the entrance of Mill Creek State Park. That was the extent of my interaction with Susie. From where I sat, she was painfully shy, with her head slightly…

It was a fairly warm springtime afternoon day. That’s why I propped the front door open as I relaxed on the futon couch while watching my infant son, Kyle sleeping on the blanket in the middle of the apartment floor. I smiled realizing how lucky I was to have such a precious baby boy. Before long…

Here was this voluptuous woman with both a commanding and yet feminine mystic to her and I wasn’t sure what to make of her. I was working a loss-prevention for an antiques store at the Reno Hilton and her, a Security Officer for the hotel/casino. Bold as day, she marched up to me and introduced…

For the last month or so I’ve been trying to remove much of the clutter in my life. One of my uncluttering tactics involves moving much of what I’ve written over the last 41-years from paper to digital material. This involves not only a lot of typing of stories word-for-word, it also involves much editing. Over the…