Author Archives: sputterpub

Talk to the Copier Repairman

Posted on August 22, 2011 by sputterpub

I should announce right here that I don’t think sales is a real career and I have serious doubts about the effectiveness of brand advertising. With those in mind: If you are offering a worthwhile product and you know it, … Continue reading →

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Unraveling

Posted on August 19, 2011 by sputterpub

      Everyone I know is heroic. But we’ve all been placed in a mostly non-catastrophic scene; we lack crises in which we can work and shine. Look how well people, most people, step up when the chips are far down. … Continue reading →

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Shoes

Posted on August 18, 2011 by sputterpub

I still have my first pair of shoes. My mother is not a packrat by any means – in fact she’s been known to dispose of treasured items like old letters from friends – but she saved the soft white … Continue reading →

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Testification

Posted on August 17, 2011 by sputterpub

A few weeks ago, Katie suggested testify for a word o’ the week. She’d heard that it came to us from testicle, because it’s what men used to swear on when they claimed to be telling the truth. “Oh cool,’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Language | 2 Comments

Posture

Posted on August 16, 2011 by sputterpub

This one is dedicated to those women who have tried marriage and not flourished in it, and who are not dead yet but are resistant to going there again. I can’t stay long – I’ll simply take a kiss if … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 2 Comments

Black Bug’s Blood

Posted on August 15, 2011 by sputterpub

I just killed a big fat fly. He’d been cruising around my cottage since last night but he didn’t annoy me to murder till this morning. I obliterated him with the back of my little spiral notebook, and then I … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters, Lessons | Leave a comment

But What is a Backwards Dessert?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by sputterpub

I like to think I discovered the fact that stressed is desserts spelled backwards, even though I now see cookbooks with that title. I first wrote a piece using the phrase around 1995. But let’s look at what it means. … Continue reading →

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My Racist Confession

Posted on August 11, 2011 by sputterpub

One day, probably 20 years ago or more, I was riding a rowdy bus. I can’t remember if it was an AC Transit vehicle or a San Francisco Muni, but I recall it as an afternoon event, traveling eastward in … Continue reading →

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Remembering Membrane

Posted on August 10, 2011 by sputterpub

Lately I’ve been screening some pop physics, which have led me into black holes and amid tiny strings and along membranes. The scientists say “branes” and then spell it out for us so we don’t envision astronomical monsters. It was … Continue reading →

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Rebuttal

Posted on August 9, 2011 by sputterpub

As far back as I can remember, I wanted to write. I’ve always loved stories and verse, and I’ve been dabbling with them, or more, since I learned to read in 1956. And at least through adolescence, I operated beneath … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Writing | Leave a comment