12 hours agoMember-onlyShe Gave Up Booze for Pills and Felt …Just following doctor’s orders — I was working with one of my lovelies the other day, a really vibrant, beautiful and funny Spanish woman to whom I teach 1–2–1 Business English. A couple weeks ago she’d told me that she wasn’t going to drink for a month, because of some medication that she’d been prescribed. …Creative Writing2 min readCreative Writing2 min read
2 days agoMember-onlyThose Daddies were Pramtastic№ 59 of 💯—Was the whole city gay, or had all the moms gone on strike? — You couldn’t help but notice. They were everywhere you looked. On buses. On the sidewalks. In every park se strolled through. In lines at the supermarkets. Waiting outside restaurants. …Short Story2 min readShort Story2 min read
Published in Age of Empathy·3 days agoMember-onlyGoing Microdiving without Getting Wet: No Water RequiredPaying attention to things we can see above the sea It’s a pretty amazing world. Especially when you pay attention to it. The then I found this in my journal, 15 March 2003. Have just spent the last week on this arid little island in the South Caribbean. 10,000 people live there…Nonfiction6 min readNonfiction6 min read
Published in Redemption·4 days agoMember-onlyLaundromat MondayShe’s just sitting there watching the sheets go ‘round and ‘round — I only come here to wash my duvet. Usually, it’s a once a year event, well, more like every couple of years, but it’s not like it actually touches you, what with the cover and all, and that’ll fit in our old Kenmore in the basement. As soon as I…Transgressive Thursday5 min readTransgressive Thursday5 min read
Published in Age of Empathy·5 days agoMember-only28 Days, Stepping Back into the LightWhat lurks behind the February door? It’ll either be my writing rehab or a Danny Boyle horror film. Join me for an adventure! — February is the new January. Like many of us, I often have big plans for a new start on ye ol’ 01/01. Fun fact: January 1 is one of the 12 days each year where the numerical notation is the same on either side of the pond. I even went…Nonfiction7 min readNonfiction7 min read
Published in Redemption·Jan 5Member-onlyGo Greyhound and Leave the Tripping to UsWe didn’t have iPads back then to pass the time — Seventeen more hours on the Greyhound and he’d be to Yellowstone. He’d left home thirty-five hours ago, and except for making a quick transfer at the Chicago bus terminal, he hadn’t set foot on solid ground since. The Windy City’s bus number was 714. …Transgressive Thursday2 min readTransgressive Thursday2 min read
Published in The Memoirist·Dec 25, 2022Member-onlyI’ll Have What Neely’s HavingWhat’s more American than a Christmas trip to the dollhouse? — I’d never been a big fan of dolls. No, I don’t mean the ones you swallow to take the edge off (I’m fine with those). I have climbed Mt Everest to reach that valley. I mean the ones you dress up and play with. That all changed one weekend several…Nonfiction6 min readNonfiction6 min read
Published in Redemption·Dec 8, 2022Member-onlyLooking for Meat in a Vegetarian RestaurantDinner dates in the digital age — Equal parts sexy and annoying, Enrique tapped away on his phone well through the appetizers. His latest iGadget was more intriguing than dear old Gerrard’s tried and true (albeit liver-spotted) fingers caressing his forearm. “Cariño, you’ll want to save your battery,” Gerrard whispered. The rest of the table talked around…Transgressive Thursday2 min readTransgressive Thursday2 min read
Published in Redemption·Dec 1, 2022Member-onlyI Can’t Live, If Living is With YouThe sun was setting on her week away. — The flight attendant announces seats upright and tray tables up as the plane takes a wide turn to the left, descending the through the clouds. The quaintest of Spanish villages, some 20 miles south of the airport comes into view. Luiza can just make out the beachfront bar where they…Transgressive Thursday2 min readTransgressive Thursday2 min read
Published in Redemption·Nov 24, 2022Member-onlyOnly The Good Die Young№ 58 of 💯—I’ll never eat peas again — “What the fuck are you doing here?” It just popped out of me, I hadn’t meant to say it like that. “In my country,” Smillew said, “we usually say hello. But maybe you’re lost in some kind of multicultural language shift and don’t remember how to speak English.” It wasn’t…Transgressive Thursday7 min readTransgressive Thursday7 min read
