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“God almighty, Mr. Cooper’s room smells like disinfected death again. We’re either dissecting fetal pigs or cats,” said Beth. “My money’s on frogs,” said Tim, he paused, “Remember when Jasmine had that meltdown the time he surprised us with the cats?” Beth laughed. “I remember that day. The whole class was shocked. I wasn’t pleased,
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Celia made a decent living as the head sales person at the Mercedes dealership downtown. She’d just come from a dinner party at Jolene’s, her best friend from high school, where there were doctors, lawyers, and teachers in an exquisite home in the most elite neighborhood. Jolene had gone to college, earned a teaching degree,
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Image generated with AI. The house smelled like breakfast. The sausage left a little grease in the pan, but it was pungent and spicy enough to make gravy. Mom added a little butter and the sweet nutty smell peppered the air, then she mixed in flour, enough to soak up the grease and butter to
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“It’s never been about what you can’t do, it’s about what you won’t do,” said Jack at the vending machine. He was buying a Snickers bar. “You’re very capable, but if you don’t want to do something, it just doesn’t happen.” He completed his purchase. “Is that a compliment or a criticism?” asked Maggie. She
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He looked at her over his arm, wondering what he could get from her. He had good looks and knew how to use them on marginally pretty women. She was smart but not a handsome woman. In a crowd, she blended in, fitted in, disappeared. She’d be perfect. He would make her laugh, feel special,
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I am still in awe and disbelief. I changed in the span of five minutes one December morning. I left home one day as a single human being and returned as a mama possum with two babies hanging in my fur. It was just going to be that way. I became a Shapeshifter. I had
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When the Bellview choir sang the old gospel spiritual, it was so powerful it blistered the paint on the walls, Sister Eloise sang with such feeling. When she cut loose on I’ll Fly Away the top of the sanctuary lifted a good six inches up off the walls of the building. The whole house of
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“I don’t think it’s right. I can’t get it lined up perfectly,” said Cassandra. “Perfection isn’t what you’re after, it’s the mood, the tone. Melancholy doesn’t follow straight lines. You want the fluidity of a blue satin skirt,” said Serena. “Let one movement flow into the other, and don’t be rigid.” “I am not from
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Wet Produce
Image generated with AI. Grocery shopping is a necessary evil. I don’t like shopping in the first place, and spending an exorbitant amount of money on sustenance seems like a sin. Life is so expensive, it doesn’t need to be so annoying to get the things I need and want. Ordering groceries online for pickup Read more
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Word Wednesday: Whalesong from “chord, note, Baltic, crowd, bronze, odor”
AI generated image. “I never thought I’d be standing on the deck of a cruise ship in the middle of the Baltic sea listening to whale songs, The notes and chords from their throats are stuff I only dreamed about,” Madeline watched the fog move over the waves. The famous clicks and moans of the Read more
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Hateful Liberation
Mom and Dad were the loves of each other’s lives. They found each other during summers when Mom went to Clay county to visit her grandparents. Their love for each other never changed. Even after they divorced thirty-two years later after dad met and had an affair with CH, the most despicable woman I’d ever Read more
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Tincher’s Store
AI generated image. Tincher’s Store and Post Office was the train station once. It stood not a hundred feet from the railroad tracks, and its wide wooden porch doubled as a bus stop in the pouring rain. We had no idea how long ago it stopped being a train station, it was half a mile Read more
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Anxiety be damned
“No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen,” said Alan Watts from the podium, his closing remarks. He got a standing ovation. I was pissed. I didn’t disagree with him, but I was pissed. I hate having reality thrown up in my face. My anxiety is often debilitating. That’s Read more
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“God almighty, Mr. Cooper’s room smells like disinfected death again. We’re either dissecting fetal pigs or cats,” said Beth. “My money’s on frogs,” said Tim, he paused, “Remember when Jasmine had that meltdown the time he surprised us with the cats?” Beth laughed. “I remember that day. The whole class was shocked. I wasn’t pleased,
-
Celia made a decent living as the head sales person at the Mercedes dealership downtown. She’d just come from a dinner party at Jolene’s, her best friend from high school, where there were doctors, lawyers, and teachers in an exquisite home in the most elite neighborhood. Jolene had gone to college, earned a teaching degree,
-
Image generated with AI. The house smelled like breakfast. The sausage left a little grease in the pan, but it was pungent and spicy enough to make gravy. Mom added a little butter and the sweet nutty smell peppered the air, then she mixed in flour, enough to soak up the grease and butter to
-
“It’s never been about what you can’t do, it’s about what you won’t do,” said Jack at the vending machine. He was buying a Snickers bar. “You’re very capable, but if you don’t want to do something, it just doesn’t happen.” He completed his purchase. “Is that a compliment or a criticism?” asked Maggie. She
-
He looked at her over his arm, wondering what he could get from her. He had good looks and knew how to use them on marginally pretty women. She was smart but not a handsome woman. In a crowd, she blended in, fitted in, disappeared. She’d be perfect. He would make her laugh, feel special,
-
I am still in awe and disbelief. I changed in the span of five minutes one December morning. I left home one day as a single human being and returned as a mama possum with two babies hanging in my fur. It was just going to be that way. I became a Shapeshifter. I had
-
When the Bellview choir sang the old gospel spiritual, it was so powerful it blistered the paint on the walls, Sister Eloise sang with such feeling. When she cut loose on I’ll Fly Away the top of the sanctuary lifted a good six inches up off the walls of the building. The whole house of
-
“I don’t think it’s right. I can’t get it lined up perfectly,” said Cassandra. “Perfection isn’t what you’re after, it’s the mood, the tone. Melancholy doesn’t follow straight lines. You want the fluidity of a blue satin skirt,” said Serena. “Let one movement flow into the other, and don’t be rigid.” “I am not from
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Eudaimonia
Image generated with AI “Eudaimonia” human flourishing a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous… “Twelve folks are coming for Thanksgiving,” said Margaret. “Is that a blessing or a curse?” asked Floralee. They’d been best friends since their college days at Bethel Hill. Margaret limped around the kitchen, holding on to the countertop…
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Time to walk away
Floralee drifted high above the valley in her balloon of daffodil seeds. She stayed aloft with her hopes and wishes of all that she’d ever dreamed. Floralee turned over in the bed. She saw the tops of green mountains and wondered what that meant. The wind blew and thousands of white petals of dandelion dust…
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Baby Barber
Image generated with AI I don’t remember shaving my sister’s legs when she was days old. I heard that story so many times growing up that I can feel my dad’s razor in my tiny hand. He was a barber, and the razor blade was double edged. The razor, thank god, wasn’t a straight one,…
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Salty
“Salty or sweet?” he asked in an online conversation. “Salty.” I replied without even thinking about it. Potato chips and dip are my absolute favorite snacks, God’s ambrosia. I prefer salt over sweet any day. I even put Chex Mix, my all time home made favorite Christmas snack over ice cream to balance it out.…
Devonne Brown 