FAMILY VISIT
Rich and Clyde turned off the Lincolnton-Stanley highway and felt their way along; it had been a number of years since they had been to Cousin Irene’s house. They both remembered the time in the past when the family reunion had been held there. “It was a nice ‘un,” said Clyde, remembering back to the […]
SHARECROPPER
Bill was sitting on the old L shaped back porch of the house. He was thinking about the deal he had struck with Russ the year before; he reckoned that Russ had been more than thoughtful in the way he had handled things. The agreement was that Bill could farm fifteen acres that Russ Hoffman […]
CARLTON AND SCORPIO
Carlton and Scorpio piled up the cattails at the edge of the backyard, very close to the new dwelling. They had secured them from the edge of a pond off Lake Boone Trail, leaning as far as they could out over the water and methodically chewing them off just above the water line, being very […]
CARLTON AND SCORPIO EXPAND THEIR HORIZONS
Carlton was sunning himself and thinking. Sometimes when he did this people thought he was just a sleepy lazy cat, but they had no idea what was going in that gigantic feline brain. This particular day he was musing on the Hoffman’s security system which had just been installed in their home. Carlton and his […]
THE EDUCATION OF FRANK HIGHT
Frank Hight turned the key in the tenth box, the last one on his once every hour tour in the Ragan Mill. Frank had been hired as the night watchman there two months earlier. His brother-in-law, Will Fraley, had gotten the job for Frank. Will was a supervisor on the second shift so he had […]
SHADY REST
Bessie finished pumping the five gallons Joe Costner had paid for and Joe rushed the engine and took off in the black 57 Ford Fairlane, smoke boiling up as he squealed the tires and headed off toward Hardin, most likely to check on his still at Oodly Creek. Joe farmed a little and made a […]
THE SHOOT
Kermit Holland pushed the accelerator as he went down the red dirt hill; it was out in the sticks with no traffic and he was running late. He had picked up a little side gig for the Belmont High annual; the photographer who had the long-term contract had retired and he had been approached by […]
THE LITERALIST
Mayor Johnnie Holland banged the lectern with the official Town of Ranlo gavel and growled “This meeting of the town board of Ranlo is now in session”. The Honorable Mayor looked to his right and left to assure himself that the six town board members were all in attendance. There were three desks to his […]
GREENER GRASS
Skylar was unpacking her suitcase and putting away her things in her room. After she had arrived at her new town, Peterville, she had located a rooming house a block from the water. The little fishing village seemed to be exactly what she had in mind; now all she had to do was get her […]
SKYLAR’S MOVE
Skylar Fisher was lying in front of her fireless place naked with her legs up in the air. Her “fireless place” was what she called the pre-fab wood burning fireplace that had never seen a fire in the twenty years she had been married to Jerry. The way her boyfriend was working on her made […]