Category Archives: Neighborhood

Carless

Posted on August 17, 2016 by sputterpub

They finally took Bertilda’s car. Her conservator showed up with a colleague and official papers. I happened to be in my front yard and was recruited as a witness or interpretor. The conservator’s name is Leah. She’s a plump black … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Delightful

Posted on August 10, 2016 by sputterpub

We all know we’re going to lose Bertilda soon. Some of us are trying to feel somber or even sad about that. Most of us are not succeeding. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly, but she’s in the machinery now. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Delightenment

Posted on July 6, 2016 by sputterpub

We had two power outages last week. That’s always inconvenient: like jury duty or a head cold. Even though it was still light out, I was impressed by how dependent I am on electricity. Especially when playoffs are being televised… … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Gray Men Walking

Posted on June 14, 2016 by sputterpub

I’m strolling to the market for some fruit. It’s spring, the sun is out, near 3 o’clock in Berkeley so I’m watching for the root that hoists a hazard of a sidewalk block. Approaching me’s a man with sparse gray … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Neighborhood, Poetry | Leave a comment

Weekday Immigrant

Posted on May 27, 2016 by sputterpub

The sidewalks teemed with joggers Thursday, when I ambled to the store before the heat. I wondered if tradition summoned men and women in their shorts to pavement-meet for exercise – a Thursday concrete run to counter Taco Tuesday’s calories? … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Neighborhood, Poetry | Leave a comment

Battery

Posted on May 11, 2016 by sputterpub

“Do you want me to call the police? I saw the whole thing.” That was my first inkling. I’d missed the tussle because I was inside at the climactic moment. As I opened the casement window in my bathroom I … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Murder

Posted on April 13, 2016 by sputterpub

Bertilda is furious. That’s an apt adjective; the old woman is mad. She has spent most of her life being angry. She’s in her mid-80s now, regularly misplacing her memory, her cat, and her keys. She could be a model … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters, Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Bertilda and APS

Posted on March 2, 2016 by sputterpub

What’s a neighbor to do? Bertilda is fast losing it, and she has no one. From what I hear, she’s always been a bitch. Some folks on our block have known her for decades, and “borderline personality disorder” is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Forestory

Posted on December 23, 2015 by sputterpub

Things have risen or sunk to a crazy level in the neighborhood. We’re beset by cops and counselors. Carol is beside herself with psychological concern about her teenage pyromaniac son, and her husband John isn’t much calmer. My friend Anne … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Another Bertilda Sighting

Posted on December 16, 2015 by sputterpub

I haven’t mentioned the neighbors on the other side of Anne. That’s probably because Ken and Jill are quiet, and normal, and not noteworthy. They live in a medium-sized house on the north side of the three-unit condo arrangement that … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment