Sports fans often oversimplify matters when their clubs fare poorly. If it gets clobbered in a big match, the fans assume the players were out drinking all night, or they were all smoking pot in the locker room. Sometimes it even works in reverse. About thirty years ago, I was sitting behind two elderly gentlemen …
The Paved Road
The first thing that I saw / When I woke up this morning / Was bad news on the TV I left on the night before / It’s the same old, sad story / Somebody shot somebody / Most of the time the victim / Was a junkie or a whore. The Weather Channel …
The Paved Road, Part Three (Final)
Well, the woman that I loved / Didn’t quite return the favor / And the woman that loved me / Left me tinged with regret / As I ruminate about the state of my sad depression / My life seems no more worthy than an empty silhouette. Bundled up in the house was a …
An Ode to Wallace Stegner, 1909-93
First must I admit I’m writing this blog principally because I wanted to accompany the sketch of Wallace Stegner I drew last night while passively watching the Boston Red Sox get pummeled by the Seattle Mariners again. My pride in this sketch enabled me to get through my almost nightly disappointment in the Red Sox. …
The Paved Road, Part Two
Eddie Sylva sat in what was mostly darkness, illuminated only by a candle next to his inoperable lamp. Similarly unavailable were the refrigerator, washer, dryer, television, phone (he hadn’t been able to find, or uncover in the darkened closet, the old one), uh, stereo, laptop, printer, clock, toaster, and undoubtedly various other electric devices of …
The Paved Road, Part One
The first thing that I saw / When I woke up this morning / Was bad news on the TV I left on the night before / It’s the same old, sad story / Somebody shot somebody / Most of the time the victim / Was a junkie or a whore. The Weather …
Between Short Stories
From whence do the short stories spring? The majority of the stories on this site began with songs I’ve written. “Facebook Friends,” for instance, began as a song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnmKXEPGCnU As a matter of fact, http://www.wellpilgrim.wordpress.com evolved into a depository for short stories. I split time between working on novels* – “Crazy by Natural Causes” is …
Life Is So Fatal
I’m not a doctor. Nor am I scientist. I do not reject science, as, inexplicably, many do, and I do not oppose medicine, particularly not the need for insurance coverage. One of my recurring frustrations is how experts have fallen into disfavor. It seems to me that one would respect the view of climatologists …
Loony Tunes
This morning I learned that a picaroon is a pirate. I already knew a macaroon was a small circular cake. A Cameroon lost to Mexico and Croatia in the World Cup. It’s June. There’s undoubtedly a moon in Rangoon. Daniel Boone was a man, what a big man. Nonetheless, occasionally he hunted raccoons. Beware goons …
Tattooed Gal
I never liked tattoos / Or bright-red hair / But I love women / Somehow I came across a gal / Who had both of those things … Call me Ishmael. Just kidding. I read novels a lot, but I’ve only seen a whale once, let alone hunted one. I’m Rusty, and not just where …
Nightrider's Lament 