Tag Archives: based on a true story

To Your Garden

- March 1, 2013

There’s a little bit of wine left, but I’m supposed to be sobering up now. I worry my tongue between my teeth as I roll the joint. (Grandma says I get that from my dad – the tongue thing, not rolling joints, though it wouldn’t shock me.) I’m trying to be precise, but I’m still […]

Conned

- March 1, 2013

“Is Kevin signing today?” The fan was earnest. I thought he was joking. Surely he could see the difference between me and Kevin Smith. The artist looked at me, expectant. I didn’t know what to do. This was the first time I’d been mistaken for anyone famous. I was sitting down so he couldn’t tell […]

Going for Broke

- February 28, 2013

In the beginning, the poker game had been my idea. I invited a few guys from the army for a friendly game. No stakes, just a fun way for a few of us from our old unit to kill a Friday night. At first it was just Pete, Daniel, Johnny, and me. We pretended we were […]

Mom’s Last Ride

- February 26, 2013

The house I grew up in backed up to a funeral home. As a kid, I had no idea what that meant, really. It was just normal for their parking lot to be filled up on weekends with people in church clothes, and periodically their chimneys would spew smelly smoke. I still remember that smell. […]

Parade Violation

- February 25, 2013

Shaun wasn’t normally a guy who carried around a lot of hate in his heart, but after the day he was having, he found he had plenty of room for a little want-to-kick-his-ass. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Shaun saw his brother’s suitcase by the door. He took it as a good sign. Maybe […]