athesaurus.com

…breathe deeply and often…

  • Karma Whispers

    God, if you say one more weird thing about something, You’ll get punched.

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  • Christmas Eve Morning

    “Hell, Stan, there are too many for a list?” Stan shook his head no, and whistled low. Greg oozed frustration. “Were you ever sure about anything?” “ I swear we’re here.” Stan jumped up and dunked on Greg. Steve dunked on both of them, then got serious.  “We’ll never get a list like this right,”…

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  • A Cat at the Museum

    “I know what “Azure” means, why wouldn’t I know what happiness and tranquility mean? Just because you’re my Papa doesn’t mean you’re smart or anything.”

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  • The Race

    This isn’t an excerpt, it’s a warning. A reader told me this was depressing.

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  • “You better have the coffee ready before you get me out of bed.”

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  • My Mincemeat Pie

    The finest pie I’ve ever made screams Christmas.

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  • Bombed Out

    He loved nothing more than a roomful of people drinking and smoking and giving him his undivided devotion and attention.

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  • Snow Before Dawn

    At least there would be no school.

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  • Never start a novel with the weather.

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  • WeeGee Slumber Party

    “Don’t tell your mom I let you see a Ouija Board. They’re not toys,”

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  • The Dunce Cap

    “What do you mean you don’t know? I just told you. Just now,” he said. Mr. Ross was ever so cross. He looked as if he were going to implode. Jim Bob didn’t care if Mr. Ross was cross. He didn’t care what he had said. All he wanted were the answers questions so he… Read more

  • The Expedition

    The expedition would have led us straight to Piccadilly Circus in London, had it not been cancelled due to the protests surrounding the tube and other forms of public transport. It was nigh on impossible to participate in the frivolity Jeanie had planned for today. Her scheduled massage with Nigel was out of the question.… Read more

  • Whisper

    Eyes slashed around the dim room.candles flickered,curtains breathed in and out,long drawn out breaths, space, the air between words when the words are locked in boxes.And the keys are around the dragon’s neck. Impossible, improbable, unlikely to get a straight story Not easy, not willing-Probably under duressWill the real tale ever come out?let loose a… Read more

  • The Open Book

    “Don’t open that,” but the words came too late. Glass fell to the floor and shattered when he lifted the glass of the barrister bookcase. “I told you not to do that, didn’t I?” Sophie was already bending over, picking shards up from the floor. “Help me with this mess, will you?” Now that the… Read more

  • Someplace Warm

    “I’ve packed all the snacks,” said Celia. “I forgot the wine,” said Doug, “Can we stop at Kroger?”  “Is it even open yet? It’s 6:30 in the morning.” Janet was aggravated. “I knew somebody would forget something. I got  really great charcuterie boards to go with the wine for tonight and tomorrow to go with… Read more

  • Escape

    “Get out,” her brain screamed inside her head and  her arms tingled, and her knees wobbled. She looked for the exit. The clock ticked. There were twenty five people between her and the door. Forty-five minutes between her and the end of the session. The room was silent save for the shuffle of the occasional… Read more

  • Karma Whispers

    God, if you say one more weird thing about something, You’ll get punched.

    Read more

  • Christmas Eve Morning

    “Hell, Stan, there are too many for a list?” Stan shook his head no, and whistled low. Greg oozed frustration. “Were you ever sure about anything?” “ I swear we’re here.” Stan jumped up and dunked on Greg. Steve dunked on both of them, then got serious.  “We’ll never get a list like this right,”…

    Read more

  • A Cat at the Museum

    “I know what “Azure” means, why wouldn’t I know what happiness and tranquility mean? Just because you’re my Papa doesn’t mean you’re smart or anything.”

    Read more

  • The Race

    This isn’t an excerpt, it’s a warning. A reader told me this was depressing.

    Read more

  • “You better have the coffee ready before you get me out of bed.”

    Read more

  • My Mincemeat Pie

    The finest pie I’ve ever made screams Christmas.

    Read more

  • Bombed Out

    He loved nothing more than a roomful of people drinking and smoking and giving him his undivided devotion and attention.

    Read more

  • Snow Before Dawn

    At least there would be no school.

    Read more

  • Never start a novel with the weather.

    Read more

  • WeeGee Slumber Party

    “Don’t tell your mom I let you see a Ouija Board. They’re not toys,”

    Read more

  • The Tree

    Once upon a time, I felt like I was separate from everyone else, standing off to the side by myself. I felt ugly and freakish. I just didn’t feel like I was in the forest with the rest of the trees. I felt like a different species that had been planted in the yard as…

  • Kinship

    The artists couldn’t have been more different. One used a palette knife to sculpt landscapes of heaven. He caught the flickering glint of stars and swirling clouds of gas and light with oily pigments. He imprisoned the light and wonder of Orion, caught his bow in mid-aim. His kin captured the magnificence of the heavens…

  • Jung Smung

    Jung says, “No matter what the world thinks about religious experience, the one who has it possesses a great treasure, a thing that has for him become a source of life, meaning and beauty, and that has given a new splendor to the world.” I’ve experienced many denominations of religious faith in my life. The…

  • Ceraunophilia (n) loving thunder and lightning and finding them intensely beautiful

    “The lightning webbed and arced across the black sky. Thunder of a thousand sonic booms shook the whole house. It did it again and again and again. “I got it on my camera, look. It’s phenomenal. I bet it goes viral. “What do you think?” asked Sadie. “Look, here it comes again. James Weldon Johnson’s…

  • Mommy’s Angel

    I begged for a guitar for Christmas. I got down on my knees in supplication to Mom one Saturday morn when the snow was knee deep outside, I remember. That’s all she heard that year. I did every chore she gave me with glee, on the outside at least, three quarters my best instead of…