Fiction

Geriatric ADD (A Mamie and Solly Story)

(Scene: Decades-married Mamie and Solly are in The Dive, an underwater hotel. Mamie is having early morning coffee and reading in the glassed-in lobby. Fish swim around outside. Solly joins her.) Solly: Good morning, Mamie. Is there tea? Mamie (sitting): Of course. I just had the weirdest experience. (pointing) Oh, look! There goes an eel!... Read More

Fiction

October 8, 2024

Salty Tale (A Mamie and Solly Story)

(Scene: Mamie and Solly, decades-long spouses in time, sit at breakfast in their sunny yellow kitchen.) Solly (unfolding his napkin): Pass the salt, please. Mamie (happily): Which one? S (eyebrows flattening): What do you mean, which one? M (whipping out a tray): New salts for you! S (frowning): Why are there so many salt shakers? ... Read More

Fiction

September 10, 2024

Quantum Exchange

(Scene: Mamie and Solly, married for decades, are weeding a garden. Weeds are flourishing amidst sparsely populated iris.) Solly (staring down in dismay): Garden is really overgrown. Weeds and flowers are intertwining. It’s a knee-high jungle. Mamie (on all fours, weeding): How could all this have grown up so quickly? S (pulling on a weed): ... Read More

Fiction

August 4, 2024

Schadenfreude Tuesday (A Mamie and Solly Story)

(Scene: On Wednesday, Mamie is driving a minivan pulling a rental trailer, jammed with consignment furniture that didn’t sell, on the road toward home, 900-miles away. She and husband Solly are rehashing what happened the day before.) Mamie (singing the first phrase, then speaking): On the road again … glad it’s Wednesday … view out... Read More

Fiction

July 11, 2024

Dads (A Mamie and Solly Story)

“Tea?” asked Mamie, turning her head toward him, raising her eyebrows. Solly glanced at her from the driver’s seat, seeing a slender woman, endearingly familiar, proffering a traveler’s mug with a dangling tea bag string. In the air conditioner’s gentle breeze, her graying hair stirred in rhythm with the string. “Sure,” he... Read More

Fiction

June 5, 2024

The Encounter

Scene: Late on a dark night, a blue minivan hauling a closed, rented trailer pulls in to get gas, coffee, and snacks under the bright lights of a truck stop just off the interstate highway in mountainous western Virginia. Cleo (turning off the car, unsnapping her seat belt, opening the door): Thank goodness. Time to... Read More

Fiction

April 6, 2024

Quantum Soup

“There you are, husband mine,” said Mamie, entering the living room while running one hand through her salt-and-pepper hair. She had just picked up an apron from the kitchen and was spinning it in the air with her other hand like a majorette twirling her baton. “What are you doing?” “Reading a physics article,”... Read More

Fiction

March 12, 2024

The Meeting

(Scene: At Jason and Chelsea’s apartment in North Carolina) “You dog, you. What are you doing here?” “Hah. Got your cat-tention, did I?” “I hate the fact that you’re in my home. Don’t touch my food bowl.” “There’s food? Where?” “No food for you! I’m going to eat it. Don’t touch my water fountain, either. ... Read More

Fiction

February 5, 2024

Valentine Dinner For Four (A Mamie and Solly Dialogue)

Scene: Mamie is making oatmeal for breakfast. Solly is drinking coffee and holding a file of papers. Mamie (stirring at the stove): So, Solly, tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and crooked smile, love of my life, what would you like to do for Valentine’s Day? Solly (thumbing through the file): It’s February? Already? M (frowning): ... Read More

Fiction

January 9, 2024

Time, Cooper, and Me

Time is our biggest asset, but also our greatest enemy. The start of a new year is a good time to think about what time means to us. In terms of assets, heightened awareness of time means making more choices about how to spend it. I’ve chosen to spend more time with the important people... Read More

Fiction

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