“Camp Shady Pines” Summer Camp from Hell! Part 3
After ” free time” and an uninspired supper of franks n’ beans and jello the whole camp was herded off to a firepit where we forced to sing Army songs. That being done we escorted back to our cabins where we were told to expect a big super fun day of Camp Activities starting in…
*Flash Fiction*A Leap of Faith
“Do not spend your time sadly thinking about the past. Spend it dreading the future.” Chah-Lee The Inscrutable Philospher From “Cosmic Notes from Beyond the Cosmos” * “Holy Smokes! Would at that thing!” “Why it must be a hundred feet tall!” Actually the cement diving platform was only thirty two feet in height – but…
“The Old Man Takes Us Out to Dinner”
Spring 1960. Los Altos, Caliifornia The Old Man decided to take us all out to dinner at the Geman Restaurant called “The Black Forest.” The Old Man ordered – Hungarian Ghoulash, Mom ordered Weiner Schnitzel and Matty opted for a Bratwurst which he proudly waved around like a baton – until he got smacked! I…
P. A. M. A. FILES: “Florsheim Shoes!” Part 2
For one glorious peaceful year, my Mom had been “single” but in recent phone conversations – hints were being dropped about a possible change. Translated – she was thinking about reconciling with Rick, my ex Stepfather. Rick was a character. He was a slick one-man demolition derby on two feet. If he came back into…
“Doodling in Class”
Miss Napier angrily snapped her chalk in half effectively silencing Class 3B. Striding over to my desk she snatched a paper off my desk. She towered like an angry Goddess over me as I shrunk down in my seat. “Charlie Bucklin – what are these scribbles?” “Uh, notes?” “They look like doodles on your paper!”…
P. A. M. A. FILES: “Florsheim Shoes!” Part 1
It’s six-thirty in the morning. The air is misty with a crispness that is typical of an early Fall day in California. The morning air is redolent with the aromas of coffee, bacon, eggs, and toast wafting from the school Mess Hall. A few Robins perched on trees call a greeting to one another joyously. …
4th Grade Facts O’ Life Part 3
Trouble reared its head like the Serpent in our little Garden of Eden in the guise of a fourth-grade classmate named Bill Burg. Bill was about my height but he was a lot thinner and he had olive skin, dark brown eyes, and perfectly straight white teeth; I hated him on sight. Ok, not really.…
Sunday Night Family Barbecue
Charlie, do you want to help me barbecue today?” “Yeah! Can I?” “Sure. We can work as a team. We can take turns watching the steak grill.” On Sunday’s, The Old Man was in fine form. There was nothing he loved more than working the family barbecue. In our neighborhood, he was known as the…
“No Pancakes for You!” A Breakfast Story
It came as a shock to us all – the day my Pop received his transfer to California by United Airlines. The Old Man a die-hard East Coaster was heartbroken – he didn’t want to leave our home in beautiful Alexandria and move to chilly San Francisco. But, if he wanted to continue being a…