Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, December 1, 2019, 10:30 a.m. It was a lone outpost consisting of a pop-up tent, a silver-gray trailer with a big-screen TV, another whose screen wasn’t as big, tables of food, coolers of ice and beverage, and a small group of would-be celebrants. The Furman University campus was mostly vacant in …
Tag: Party
I’d Batten Down the Hatches if I Had Any
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, September 7, 2017, 12:15 p.m. A week ago, a large chunk of Texas, which itself is a large chunk, caught the largest amount of rain ever recorded on the continent. Now the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever is curving toward, eventually, here. How many “once-in-a-thousand-years storms” are going to have to …
Far, Far Away
In response to some small demand, I took up the story of Riley Mansfield, the main character in my first novel, The Audacity of Dope. The first three episodes, in order, were “Seven Years If It’s a Day,” “Like Old Times,” and “High in La-La Land.” This is the fourth episode. Some adjustments had …
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 …
Stuck in a Rut, Part One
This is an extension of a song I wrote. It was a Thursday, but she didn’t have a class until eleven on Friday, and then she had to go to Lake Murray to spend the weekend with the family, and next week was Spring Break, so Josie Swenson didn’t see any reason she couldn’t have …
Say, Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away?
I was just thinking – well, on and off, actually, for several days – about things people used to do and say. And don’t anymore. When’s the last time you heard the term “Red China”? That used to be short for the People’s Republic, back before it started supplying Walmart. “Nationalist China” sounded important, but …
The Bowl System
Democrats evolve. Republicans don’t. Libertarians devolve.Exceptions exist, of course, in all three categories. It’s similar to rules of grammar.Perhaps I’m a reluctant Democrat. It’s hard to put up with the bullshit, but the only hope of advancement, however slim, rests with the Democrats.One reason we can’t get a damned thing done in this country anymore …
Nightrider's Lament 