There was an old woman and a nurse in a room. The old woman sat in a chair holding a cane. There was a tray in front of her with a plate nearly full. The nurse bent over and wiped her face with a napkin. The nurse believed when old women talked about their lives it’s a sign they’re about to die. Miss Macintosh started doing that, and it was making the nurse anxious.
“How about you eat some of your peas?” coaxed the nurse.
4.3..
Beef, potatoes, gravy, fork and knife to the left, glass to the right. The volume set to eleven and the table lamp lit, not the standalone lamp.
4.6..
Switched detergent!!!
4.8..
Bianca’s visit was cancelled so I had to throw away the pies. Also if I’m being honest to myself I don’t like pies.
4.9..
A raccoon family found the pies. The two trash cans were open and garbage all over our driveway when he left for work. I need to learn! How can I be so stupid!? My shirt’s ruined now of course. A shower will clean my face, but my shirt is ruined. The gray-brownish liquid. It’s in my hair! I need a shower.
We invited Literally Stories author and friend, Dave Louden, to be Editor for a day and choose his three favourite stories from the site. Here is what Dave had to say about the three stories he chose and why he felt they were special…
If there was ever a task that was as enjoyable as it was difficult it’s this one. On the one hand I got to re-read some of my favourite stories this site has offered up but on the other I had to narrow down months of great reading to three stories. Three titles across a cornucopia of genres. How do you compare a Noir to a light-hearted comic fable? A piece of science fiction to a poignant piece of personal history? In the end I had to simply say “F*ck it! Which stories made me wish to Christ I wrote them?”
Sunday sees another LS author take the helm as Editor (for a day) to choose their three favourite stories from the site in Editor Picks.
Step forward Dave Louden.
Week 33…
Not satisfied with two new authors in one week, Literally Stories pushed the boat out and made it four in a row Monday through Thursday as we welcomed Elizabeth Swann Lewis, Bill Runyan, Michael C. Keith and Jeffrey Miller.
dm gillis who took this week’s Friday berth, needs no introduction.
Vancouver 1949
There’s a direction a city takes when kids go missing. The virtues of due process are quickly abandoned, and the closet vigilantes come out. Suddenly, everyone has an opinion and a plan.
Supposition becomes fact. The police become worthless stooges, in league with the perversions of dark and faceless perpetrators. Rights and freedoms become the sole domain of the self-anointed, raging against the printed word that breaks the news.
Glen sat in the corner booth of the Hollywood Diner and stared out one of the windows that separated the gray and red walls. He was delighted with the cool autumn day. It was one of those dark and gray days he loved being in the city despite the light drizzle that had been falling most of the morning. He held a cup of coffee to his lips and took pleasure in the richness and the warmth. On the cigarette-burned, graffiti-scarred table next to a half-eaten pastrami on rye his drawing pad was opened and waiting.
In [Academia] the only homage they pay to virtue is hypocrisy.
–– Lord Byron
Full Professor Seymour Wilkes had planned to vote against the tenure of assistant professor Bixby in any case. While he admitted to himself that she was amply qualified for the distinction based on her excellent record of publications and teaching evaluations, he simply didn’t like her––mainly he disapproved of her appearance. To him, her short skirts and modestly tattooed forearm were the deal breakers. She just doesn’t look respectable. Looks too much like some of our students, and she acts like she prefers their company to ours.
Continue reading “Senior Faculty Act on Roselle Bixby’s Tenure by Michael C. Keith”
Old Jefferson John Williams never really done nothin’ to deserve his story told, but Doc Elroy and the Preacher prodded me to write a little piece on him. I, myself, never done nothin’ to deserve to write about nobody, but Doc helped me with spelling and smoothed out some of the grammar a bit, without changing much of the words. Anyhow, what I wrote was printed up in some out-of-town paper and I have a copy of it. I still don’t understand why I was asked to write about Jeff John, or why it was printed. But I don’t care, ‘cause what I did was right.
A greeter stood in the driveway wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, a set of Halloween cat ears atop his head, and had pulled a ladies negligee over his clothing. “A smile, that’s what I like to see. That’s why I do this. What a weirdo you say. But you’re smiling. Everything priced over a dollar today half off.”
Roy clutched the handles of the dog-eared backpack slung over his shoulder. “This is my father’s house.”
This week’s Fab Five was made up of one old boy, two Literally Stories Editors and two newcomers.
Des Kelly began the week briskly, setting a good pace with Running. James McEwan commented: “A clever and metaphoric piece, that is absorbing from within the character.”
Tuesday saw LS newcomer Jon Beight — welcome Jon — introduce a rarity to this neighbourhood of cyberspace. Namely a love story. Elizabeth Swann Lewis commented on Miguel, Lola and Ted – A Love Story: “I will probably never ever get the image of the guy melding with his chrome out of my mind. HILARIOUS.”
Wednesday, yet again, occurred in the middle of the week. I suspect, Wednesday’s author, Nik Eveleigh, couldn’t give two hoots whether or not you clicked on his story, Apathetica. Des Kelly wasn’t so indifferent when he observed: “Enjoyable and trippy stuff. You’ve gained entry into the magic lands of Terry Pratchett and escaped to tell the tale.”
Hugh Cron posed a question that felt more like a plea in his gritty tale Why Can’t She See The Difference? Diane Dickson remarked: “By approaching this from a less usual angle – that of one of the less obvious victims of a crime – you have produced a powerful piece of writing about the aftermath of a dreadful deed. Uncompromising and heart rending.”
The week finished on Friday in a not too distant future with another addition to the LS fold, Jaclyn Adomeit. Welcome Jaclyn and thank you for writing Drafted. Hugh Cron said: “This caught my interest very quickly. You have crafted a futuristic story with the recognisable attitudes and problems of today.”
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