My “Winter Winds” in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here

I asked fellow The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so appeared over the past few weeks. The last two in this set are of yours truly.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

And now, my Winter Winds:

It occurred to me, as I sat watching, that the scene was not as it should be. The winds played oddly on the landscape, and even the patterns of the falling snow were different. However, it wasn’t until I turned off the floodlights, which are white, and turned on the ground lights, which are pink, that the entire scene was revealed to me.

Continue reading “My “Winter Winds” in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here

The Book of the Wounded Healers (A Study in Perception) – Chapter 12 – “Praying”

The Book of the Wounded Healers (A Study in Perception) – Chapter 12 – “Praying”

 
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:

A man is caught in a flood. At first the water’s up to his ankles. A car drives by and the driver says, “Get in, I’m driving up into the mountains.”
The man says, “No, I’ll pray and God will take care of me.”
Soon the water is up to his hips. A man in a boat comes by, says, “Get in.”
The man in the water says, “No, I’ll pray and God will take care of me.”
Soon the man is sitting on the roof of his house and the water is still rising. A helicopter comes by and the pilot lowers a ladder. “Get in, I’ll fly you out of here.”
The man hollers back, “No thanks. I’ll pray and God will take care of me.”
The man drowns and goes to heaven. He meets God and says, “What happened? I prayed and you still let me drown.”
God says, “Hey, I sent you a car, a boat, and a helicopter. What more am I suppose to do?”

Sounds of the city. Manhattan is never silent. Most places fall silent 3 to 5AM, not Manhattan. The city seems to sigh only once a week, early Sunday morning, from 4:45 to 5, maybe 5:15AM. It is then you hear it catch its breath, relax, wipe its brow and shake off its sweat, sit back and inventory itself before the next week’s business begins.

There are always the sounds of subways, elevated trains, cars, trucks, busses, bridges cracking with the cold, exploding with the heat, swaying with the strains of tons of travel over them.

And people. There are sounds of people, ten-thousands of them, everywhere all the time and without exception. Buildings pulse with the life within them, elevators climb up and down like hearts pumping in some sixty story life form.

A west-blowing breeze dampens us with a 4:52AM, Sunday morning slickness. It rises like a dragon’s mane on the mists coming in from the East River as we walk down Peter Cooper Road. The sunrise is glorious. The city almost smells sweet and clean, smells I’ve never noticed before.

A Federal Express truck stops in front of us. “You Ben Matthews?” the driver asks me.

“Yes.”

“Sign this, please?”

“What is it?”

“I just deliver ’em, friend.”

I want to ask, “You guys normally deliver this early? On a Sunday, no less?”

It’s a letter from the Indiana Church of the Triple Saviors. “We’re being asked to go to Indiana to teach them how to pray.”

Jenreel frowns. “Pray?”

“Yes, to a god or gods, maybe. You know, to ask for something from some being greater than yourself.”

Cetaf look from Jenreel to the letter to me. “We can’t teach what we don’t know how to do.”

Jenreel joins Cetaf’s perusal of the letter. “The truest way to discover your own ignorance is to teach it to others.”

Frog Lips joins our inspection. “Only those who don’t realize their own ignorance attempt to teach what they themselves don’t know.”

“They’ve offered to pay. Pay for the trip, pay for our lodging, even says they’ll put something in our pockets.” What I really want to know is when did they learn to read? But I don’t ask because the answer will be obvious and I’ll feel like an idiot for asking.

Jenreel taps his robe. “We don’t have any pockets.”

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Previous entries in The Book of the Wounded Healers (A Study in Perception) series

My “My Wife’s An Alien” in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here

I asked fellow The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so appeared over the past few weeks. The last two in this set are of yours truly.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

And now, my My Wife’s An Alien:

My wife’s an alien. I found out on our wedding night. You see, I’m old school. None of that heavy breathing stuff until the rings are on the fingers. She didn’t seem to mind. I offered to…pleasure her…in other ways. You know? If she wanted.

Continue reading “My “My Wife’s An Alien” in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here

Gordon Cloud’s “The Legend Of Possum Flat” in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here

I asked fellow The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

And now, Gordon Cloud’s The Legend Of Possum Flat:

A warm breeze was blowing across the Montana foothills as a 1937 De Soto carefully made its way along the curvy and somewhat bumpy road, kicking up a cloud of dust as it went. Traveling down a wooded hillside that bore a couple of rocky outcroppings, the car descended to a grove of trees and a small homestead in the shade of some large cottonwood trees.

Continue reading “Gordon Cloud’s “The Legend Of Possum Flat” in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here

Just Hanging Out

Then there are those really hot days where all you can do is lay on your favorite branch and hope a cool wind comes by to ruffle your fur and cool you off.

Ever have one of those?

Perhaps sans favorite branch?

We had a true heat wave this past summer. Seniors, pets, and children were advised to stay indoors. Some school systems opened their doors so children would have an air-conditioned place to spend the day.

A few weeks back we had two days in the high 40s low 50s with a high 70s low 80s day followed by two more high 40s low 50s days.

Not sure I can claim this weather as a New Englandism.

I watch how things change, how invasive species enter and existing species exit ecosystems.

I suggest we – you – start acting before it’s too late. In many places a gallon of water costs more than a gallon of gas. What will you do when there’s a tax on breathable air? The phrase food insecurity came into common use not long ago.

I laughed when I heard it. It’s right up there with senior citizens being overhoused, meaning the government gets to decide how big a house they should have.

Strangely, the government never makes that decision with the wealthy and well-to-do, only with those living in he margins.

Thank god for that, huh? I’d hate to think we’re socialists.

But food insecurity? You mean they have no food to eat, right?

Then quit euphemizing it. Global climate change is not the same as global warming. The latter is a threat to existing species, the former is something which occurs naturally over time and nothing to worry about.

True, it does occur over time…usually centuries if not millenia, not decades, years, weeks, hours, and days.