Subscribe:
RSS feed
By S. Harry Zade
Browsing All posts tagged under »Fatherhood«
Intersections: Chapter 48: Naomi
The first thing Larry noticed about his daughter was a droopy blouse and a bare right shoulder traversed by a purple bra strap. Flakes of snow landed on her skin and sizzled. Her face lit with what he, in normal circumstances, would’ve thought was an authentic smile, except he had caught the passing look of […]
Intersections: Chapter 47: The Belly
April 21, 2013
As if it was waiting for Larry’s total humiliation as its cue, a winter wind swooped down from the Dakotas and blew in a hard, stinging snow. A chill reached his bones. If the police were coming, he decided he should change his wet shirt while he still could, before the process was impeded by […]
At the Epiphany Cafe: Entropy
April 17, 2013
As soon as I gave Cowboy Tom a job at the Epiphany Cafe, I regretted it. Oh, he was fine with the espresso machine, could whip up a frap in seconds, and had a steady hand making all those flower designs on the mochas. The cash in his till always balanced out, the tip jar […]
Intersections: Chapter 42: Light Beams
March 13, 2013
It was dark by the time Larry reached Baton Rouge. That’s when he observed the light beams, a phenomenon he’d not noticed since childhood. He couldn’t have even been school age when he sat in the back seat one night, returning home with his folks from Thanksgiving at his grandparents, or some such event. The […]
Intersections: Chapter 32: Flooding
January 7, 2013
Larry got in the car to resume his circuitous expedition to redemption. The crunching gravel of the shoulder broke the early morning Arkansas silence. By the time he got up to speed, his traveling companion began snoring beside him, dreaming of New Awe Lands. Larry considered waking him up to tell him off. He was […]
The Lisping Barista: The Old Man on the Run
December 2, 2012
There was plenty of walking at the music festival, going from one stage to the next, sampling what every group had to offer. The Lisping Barista and I strolled hand in hand, like the young lovers that only one of us was. Some venders had set up on the way, selling jewelry, tie die, massages, […]
Intersections: Chapter 20: The Bridge Inspector
October 10, 2012
The thought occurred to Larry as he drove west through Pennsylvania, that he would become a bridge inspector. He wasn’t concerned about the crumbling infrastructure of America. It seemed to him, driving through coal producing country, that we were already doing enough to change the landscape to our questionable taste. Woodchucks had better aesthetic sense where they […]
Intersections: Chapter 19: Centralia
October 3, 2012
By the time he had driven fifty miles, Larry was looking for a place to turn around. It was no use, his going to see his children, and it was all his ex-wife’s responsibility. Resentments smoldered within. Everything was her fault. “We were happy, once. I was working at the head shrinking factory and she […]
Intersections: Chapter 18: Lost in the Sun
September 26, 2012
“You don’t understand,” Larry said to the bored cashier, “This beer isn’t for me. It’s for my son; he’s a serviceman returning from hot, dusty, dry Afghanistan, where they have no beer.” Against all reason, Larry was already starting to get loud. The more he talked, the louder he got. The more wrong he got, […]
Intersections: Chapter 17: Taking Leave
September 19, 2012
Of the three: Larry, his elderly father, and the nursing home’s death cat, only the cat got any sleep that night. The two humans stayed up till dawn, talking. The cat curled on the afghan on the old man’s lap, awakening at intervals to stretch, and yawn. Even though the cat never said a word, […]
Intersections: Chapter 16: Getting Ready
September 15, 2012
“Get dressed,” said Larry, “and I’ll help you pack. Where do you keep your suitcase?” Before waiting for an answer, he dug through the old man’s closet, past the jam packed hangers and a school of shoes swimming on the floor. His father, sitting on his chair, ensconced in his pajamas, an afghan over his […]
Intersections: Chapter 15: Directions
September 12, 2012
“Calculating,” said Samantha, the electronic voice of Larry’s GPS. He had turned to her to ask where to go, but, unlike other women that had been in his life, she had no opinion. She could only tell him where to go once he had already decided. Therefore, he put in his daughter’s address, just to […]
The Stolen Janitor: Schubert and Daughters
August 18, 2012
A long, lonely road led up to Ted Schubert’s Sawmill. No one ever came by, but Craig did, because no matter how lonely a place can be, a man with nowhere left to go – broke, lonesome, and grieving – can find it… In my last excerpt of Keith Wilson’s book, Fate’s Janitors: Mopping Up […]
Intersections: Chapter 10: Death Cat
August 9, 2012
The nursing home’s death cat approached Larry directly, sat just out of his reach, and studied him. The cat was well known for its ability to forecast death. Whenever it began to sleep on a resident’s bed, that resident would expire within a week. Scientists and newspaper writers came to study and report on the […]
Intersections: Chapter 9: The Mouth
July 28, 2012
Larry spent the rest of New Year’s Eve staring at his sleeping father’s open mouth. A preacher, his father had made his living with his mouth, just as Larry made his with his ears. The mouth always had plenty to say. His father’s sermons, printed out and clipped to binders, filled an entire storage unit […]
Pike’s Peak or Bust: The Prophet and the Psychic
July 7, 2012
It took a day or two, but, when I was finally down off the mountain, and free of the Boy Scouts, the muscle bound bobsled pushers, and a horde of other busy bodies I met on the train; when I was finally braceleted, numbed, stitched, disinfected, bandaged, medicated, hooked and unhooked to a half dozen […]
Pike’s Peak or Bust: Fly Away
June 6, 2012
The five of us, Sam driving, Kim and Natalie in the back seat, me riding shotgun, and Paul in a coffee can on my lap, began our climb to the top of Pike’s Peak to spread his ashes. I couldn’t help but think of other times my son sat on my lap, squirming to be […]
Pike’s Peak or Bust: Papa Bear
June 2, 2012
“You’re a cool dude, Mr Zade,” said Sam, taking a break from the video wars to watch me, bent over backwards into the sink, getting my hair dyed Manic Panic Vampire Red. “Not many Dads would go along with what you’re doing.” No, I suppose not. It’s their loss, although I shouldn’t brag too much. […]
Pike’s Peak or Bust, Continued: Manic Panic Vampire Red
May 30, 2012
After what happened the last time I rang the bell at my late son’s house, I was prepared for almost anything, however, I was not prepared for what I saw this time. Sam did not answer the door in his boxers, smelling of sex and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was on the […]
May 5, 2013
0