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Nightrider's Lament

"Why do they [write] for their money? Why do they [work] for short pay? They ain't getting nowhere and they're losing their share. They must have gone crazy back there." — Michael Burton (paraphrased)

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Tag: writing

A Sticking Key

On September 16, 2014September 16, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn Life1 Comment

I’m grateful for this Sony laptop. It’s lasted longer than any of my previous writing apparati. The wear and tear of writing about distant events took its toll on a Dell, a Toshiba, and another brand whose name escapes me now. I’ve also been a writer – a sportswriter for most of that time – …

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Try, Try Again

On September 8, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn LifeLeave a comment

I’m taking a break. I’ve been working on the thirty-eighth chapter of the first draft of a novel about an evil politician and a good cop who have known each other all their lives. It’s slowed as it nears its end. When last I left Denny Frawley, he was debating the incumbent governor and this …

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No Time to Travel

On September 5, 2014September 6, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

She was a tiny woman, skin tightly drawn around her face, remarkably unwrinkled yet somehow looking old, as if she spent a lot of time screaming to stretch it out. The fat man hoped to God she wasn’t sitting on his row. Once he had flown on an almost weekly basis, an average of fifty …

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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (Part Three)

On August 29, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn FictionLeave a comment

Waste your money / On a bag of weed / Take out options / You don’t need / The first time that you compromise / Well, now you’re on your way / And when you pass out on greed / That’s where you’re gonna stay   It was a Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, the first …

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Chasing Chickens

On August 27, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn HumorLeave a comment

My nephew started raising chickens at my mother’s house – he lives there, too – earlier this year. They are cooped up, but he lets them wander around while he is at work. I keep the grass cut – my mother and I both have rather large yards – so I was riding around and …

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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (Part Two)

On August 21, 2014September 1, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn FictionLeave a comment

Since I was just a boy / They’ve said the truth shall set you free / Sometimes it seems the truth is just a source of misery / The line is long and weary gathered at the gates of hell / Just heed the devil’s call / Don’t ask, don’t tell After a visit to the …

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I Hate U

On August 20, 2014August 20, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn Humor1 Comment

No. Not you. U. And I know nothing about Steven Singer. It’s the letter “U” I hate, Johnny Unitas, a truly great American, RIP, notwithstanding. I apologize to Johnny U. And uncles everywhere, of which I am one. Seven-Up, the Uncola. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I don’t feel as guilty about the umbilical cord, Urban …

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Little Things

On August 19, 2014August 19, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn FictionLeave a comment

Sherrill thought he was in a good mood, but he must have been wrong. He just thought he’d check out the new restaurant that had opened. He drove uptown with an open mind and a book he could open. He liked to read a while before he paid up. The women in that place rubbed …

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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (Part One)

On August 18, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn FictionLeave a comment

Claim you’re making / More than you are / Hitch your wagon / To a star / The truth is incidental / To what you gotta say / Those who can’t play ball / Are prone to fade away   Riggs Hellams completed his session with the fungo, and now all he had to do …

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Peeking Outside

On August 17, 2014 By wastedpilgrimIn LifeLeave a comment

Man, oh, man. My life has changed. For twenty years, I flew about fifty thousand miles in each, writing about stock car races all over the country. On Friday, I will walk onto a plane for the first time since November 2012. I used to write columns. Now I write blogs. I used to write …

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