athesaurus.com

…breathe deeply and often…

  • 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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  • Listen

    Listen on purposeLift your spirit with good words, and make your soul smile.

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  • Rainbow Tornado

    Photographer unknown “Look up there, Frank, what is that?” asked Bessie. “Is it the end of times?” “O shit, Bessie, it ain’t the end of times, that’s a rainbow tornado. The old people said those things were good luck. Instead of sucking everything up, it’s raining down good energy.” “You mean like letting Leprechauns loose Read more

  • Solace

    Image generated with AI. In the old stories, when life went sideways, the princess had to go to the haunted forest to find the oracle. Diane thought she might as well give it a shot. It was a hundred degrees outside. The creek was ankle deep, the shade dappled and dark. She’d start looking here. Read more

  • Mama’s Revenge

    Image generated with AI. “Did I miss a message?” She knew her son’s intentions, she just thought he knew better, she didn’t want to get into a sniping match, so she shut up. Some things were better left unsaid. Mama didn’t like it when her boy kept her car out all night without asking. “I Read more

  • Potato Salad

    Image generated with AI When I go outside, summer smells like rain and cut grass. If I sit on my rocking chair on the back porch, I smell the deep green dirt and dead leaves of forest earth supporting my flowers. The deadfall of the yard, dotted with bright pink begonias and orange, fuchsia, and Read more

  • Promise and Truth

    Image generated with AI Alice Krudworthy gave up on lying a long time ago. She quit making up shit, but would often omit certain details to bend the thinking of whomever she was talking to. “What did you have for dinner?” Someone would ask innocuously.  “Salad, with apples, chickpeas, avocados, tomatoes, and crab. I made Read more

  • Fall, Flail, or Fly?

    Photo by Tasha Marie To be or not to be.  fall, flail, or fly? Ribs tight and hard, stomach in knots.  I don’t even see the setting sun, there are no colors left in the grey of dusk.  The ocean laps and pounds the jutting rock on which I stand.  I pull my hair to 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

  • Listen

    Listen on purposeLift your spirit with good words, and make your soul smile.

    Read more

  • 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…

  • Good King Wenceslas

    “I love the way the full moon glistens on the snow when it’s deep and crisp and even like this, not a mark on it,” the good king said. It was St. Stephen’s Day, Boxing Day, the patron saint of stonemasons and bricklayers, the first martyr, stoned to death for blasphemy. He was also the…