Monthly Archives: July 2013

Floss (Part 2 of 3)

Posted on July 31, 2013 by sputterpub

Looking back on it now, I know there’s a momentum to life that no one warned me about. Teachers and TV shows and even my parents told me not to pressure myself, that there would be plenty of time to … Continue reading →

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Floss (Part 1 of 3)

Posted on July 30, 2013 by sputterpub

Cornsilk is how her hair looked when I first met her. We were 16, and the century was 66 years old. Now we’re into a new millennium, and Carol’s hair isn’t long or silky any more. It’s still blonde. She … Continue reading →

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Post-Modernism

Posted on July 29, 2013 by sputterpub

Remember peace and love and stringy hair? Insipid daisy-giving? Dancing gauze? Encounter groups and love-ins everywhere? The way the groups made every thought a cause? I recollect them with the same contempt engendered then by every boring pose; it seemed … Continue reading →

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Dam

Posted on July 26, 2013 by sputterpub

So there was I, a river-skimming bark, a traveling observer on the tide, reacting to the sunlight and the dark, disdaining anchorage at either side, and thinking I could keep on drifting so, until I’d spot a something on the … Continue reading →

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Life Contingencies (End)

Posted on July 25, 2013 by sputterpub

“Oh Brad – I felt like a piece of shit. It didn’t help that she was young and lovely. I mean it would have been awful no matter who slipped and fell, but it was of course easier to feel … Continue reading →

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Life Contingencies (Middle)

Posted on July 24, 2013 by sputterpub

It was a demonstration, but they couldn’t tell if it was for Haiti, Palestine, or janitors. They were so accustomed to Friday financial district activism that they hardly paused. The waiter nodded toward the street with a fond look on … Continue reading →

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Life Contingencies (Beginning)

Posted on July 23, 2013 by sputterpub

“So how does a pension actuary differ from the other kind?” Brad asked. He leaned forward in his chair and the buttons pulled across the belly of his blue shirt. “Actually, it’s just an alphabetic matter,” Susan explained. He heard … Continue reading →

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Hex

Posted on July 22, 2013 by sputterpub

Every minute yesterday it seemed I had to push me up an endless hill with leaden legs, on avenues that teemed with people who looked hungry, sad or ill. The sun was golden warm and stronger bright than it had … Continue reading →

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Q & A

Posted on July 19, 2013 by sputterpub

A question needs an answer or it dies an awkward conversational demise. But all the questions hunt for are replies; if truth the object is, it’s been forgot. I’ve long ignored the evidence my eyes and ears collect in all … Continue reading →

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JSYK (3 of 3)

Posted on July 18, 2013 by sputterpub

There was a button I was supposed to use if I needed the nurse. I had to reach above my head to push it. Some time late during that long night, close to morning, I felt another wave of nausea … Continue reading →

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