Mind the ice, says Didi. We shuffle across the parking lot. My stomach rumbles. Have to feed the monsters, says Didi. She reaches inside her yellow trench coat and pulls out a paper bag. She opens the bag. Crispy edges. She claws the object. It is foiled. And glowing. I open the glowing foil. Inside is a fluffy bun with strawberry jam in the middle. The butter already melted … [Read more...]
Let Me Tell You About the Fistfight I Got Into Last Night
My friend Mendi gave me a book by the Dalai Lama for my birthday. It has a color picture of him on the cover. The words are by him, all right. I started reading, I was sailing along at a nice clip. I got to some lines about family and friends and what they are good for, and did I tell you about the fistfight I got into last night? Yes, I did. I got into a fistfight. I was … [Read more...]
Shine – Star Spider
She moves soft as moonlight, pouring across the concrete. She follows the sound of the music as it reaches out into the quiet streets. She’s been following the sound for eons and still it pulls her forward, on and on through the dark. She lingers for a moment at the door of the bar with the scent of stale cigarettes and beer. She remembers a time when music smelled … [Read more...]
Red Warner’s Last Painting
Excerpted from the forthcoming novel, Visual Liberties He's now had his morning coffee and finished off a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and slices of banana. From the back of his closet he digs out the old coveralls he wears when painting, takes off his shirt, puts the coveralls on and slips his feet into paint splattered shoes that have been relegated to the back of the … [Read more...]
Dancing the Blues
Friday night is blues dancing in the South of Market district of San Francisco. A small studio space filled with about thirty people freely moving to the music in a way that can only be described as a one night stand. A combination of jazz, swing dancing, and personal rhythm. The original “freak” dancing. It’s a musty little room, the air is thick with sweat, but no one cares. … [Read more...]
