Monthly Archives: October 2011

Ghostbuster

Posted on October 31, 2011 by sputterpub

I was listening to KFOG the morning of May 13 this year. It was a Friday, so the talk between the music was about subjects superstitious. The featured guest was a ghost expert and the featured listener paid partial attention. … Continue reading →

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Western Fare

Posted on October 28, 2011 by sputterpub

She walks outside at 3 this afternoon upon a sidewalk carpeted with leaves, observing that the winter’s coming soon; it’s suddenly too cool for T-shirt sleeves. An apple is reducing in her hand as she ingests each tart and crispy … Continue reading →

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Boxing with Boxes

Posted on October 27, 2011 by sputterpub

My Berkeley cottage is one of five small homes on the property. We’re legally a condominium development but we’re so small we run it informally. No one pays dues. I guess I’m the “HOA,” because I handle the common bills … Continue reading →

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From Hempen Cloth

Posted on October 26, 2011 by sputterpub

Danny and Andy and I happened to discuss the word “canvas” over lunch a month ago. Danny did a quick phone-peek and announced that the word was derived from “cannabis.” So of course it went onto the list of language … Continue reading →

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Juxtaposition

Posted on October 25, 2011 by sputterpub

I can make a satisfying meal: tasty mixture at a low expense. I can cook a dinner of appeal but I can’t fabricate ingredients. I can change an argue to agree (switch a letter, make the order squirm). Composition is … Continue reading →

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Where There’s Smoke

Posted on October 24, 2011 by sputterpub

… there may be a smoke machine. I could end this post with that. Or I could wait until a sweet everyday example comes to me, so I can make a small point that reverberates. But I’m feeling declarative this … Continue reading →

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Invisible Friends

Posted on October 21, 2011 by sputterpub

All grownups have invisible friends. That’s who they talk to when they move their mouths and there’s no one else around. The more burnt-out grownups talk aloud to their invisible friends, to the embarrassment of the less burnt-out grownups, who … Continue reading →

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Awful Us

Posted on October 20, 2011 by sputterpub

A month ago I was alone for a bit with my two brothers, and it didn’t take long for us to start joking inappropriately. I don’t know whether it’s called black humor or just weird, but we have been known … Continue reading →

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Puzzle Words

Posted on October 19, 2011 by sputterpub

I like word puzzles. From an early age I enjoyed crosswords and codes, in college I began unscrambling letters and solving acrostics and diagramless varieties, and I have engaged, chronically I see, at backwards reading and mirror writing. I have … Continue reading →

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Pedestrian Path

Posted on October 18, 2011 by sputterpub

I used to turn the corner to my street with dread reluctance mounting in my heart, preparing for the tensions I would meet within my own front door. That stress was part of every evening when I lived with him … Continue reading →

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