Here’s the second episode of this short story, which revisits Riley Mansfield, the main character in my novel The Audacity of Dope, seven years later. The first episode was called “Seven Years If It’s a Day.” LIKE OLD TIMES To his satisfaction, Riley Mansfield’s position had descended in the public consciousness, but he still …
Seven Years If It’s a Day
Ever since I wrote my first novel, The Audacity of Dope, readers have asked about a sequel. I always said “never say never,” but I’d had my fill of its unlikely hero, Riley Mansfield. No sequel is in the works, but perhaps this is a start in that direction. I don’t know. I awakened thinking …
Super Sunday
The Washington Redskins were playing the Denver Broncos. Amon Paterson attended a Super Bowl party that started hours before the actual game. Doritos. Dip. A refrigerator and several ice chests, laden with beer. Chicken wings back when “hot” was the only flavor. A big pot of oyster stew. Gamblers. Lots of gamblers. Amon had no …
Ladson Could Sure Play Ball
Here’s the whole short story. As usual, I’ve gone back and fixed some details. I had some fixation with naming a character Ladson and referring to him several times as Troy, mainly because I knew a Troy once with a similar last name. It’s entirely possible there are other little glitches I’ll discover later. I …
A Matter of Trust
This is the final episode of a short story. The first two, in order, were “A Bit Sketchy on the Details” and “The Wrong Girl.” Barney Parmenter was mildly surprised when the Sheriff was still at his office, and a little disappointed, but he’d said he’d drop by, and it wasn’t wise not to live …
The Wrong Girl
This Episode Two of a short story. One more remains. The first was “A Bit Sketchy on the Details.” I went back and revised the first episode slightly to adjust for a decision to change the plot a bit. Once it’s done, I’ll post the entire short story in one take. Thanks for …
A Bit Sketchy on the Details
It’s common for me to start one of these stories planning on making it short and sweet, but then my imagination takes hold, and it starts growing. This is Part One … of something. Barney Parmenter thought it a pleasant surprise when he saw the kid thumbing at the entrance to Interstate 35W near …
Road Songs and Rivers
I hit the road this morning wishing I was going to somewhere like Texas, or Nashville, or some other place that was more than eight-five minutes away. Much of my time these days is spent holed up at the house typing away. When I get out, it’s golden. From time to time, an old friend …
Good Macaroni Pie
How about a lighter touch? Mary Sue couldn’t believe it. Here she was, knowing all of them were broke as social security but not near on it, trying to save some money where she could, and all that got was ridicule. You’d think she was putting sugar on grits. Back up. Younger brother Stick worked …
The Wayward Son
I'm proud of this short story. It's long, almost a novella, and I could see it growing into a novel one day. If you'll stick with it, it's got a good message, but it requires acceptance of an 'R' rating and patience to get through all the drugs and sex before any lessons get learned. FEEDING …
Nightrider's Lament 