May 18th, 2012 § permalink
A magnificent fat crow glared at me from atop the cemetery birdbath. Under gray, clamoring clouds, it cawed a warning to me. Somewhere, a man reading Lovecraft got an erection he couldn’t explain.
I was going a’writing in a graveyard. » Read the rest of this entry «
May 16th, 2012 § permalink
I sipped a glass of bourbon that cost more than a whole bottle would wholesale and watched the three-piece jazz combo perform a medley of Etta James’ “At Last” and an original composition apparently known as “Test One Two.” » Read the rest of this entry «
May 14th, 2012 § permalink
There are those of us in this great, big world, this city of smell, who are of the belief that all moments contain all things, that a moment of grief contains an aspect of beauty, that a moment of levity contains a seed of tragedy.
I am one of those people. It’s a belief I cherish, but one that’s hard to defend in a room full of Robert Goulets. » Read the rest of this entry «
May 11th, 2012 § permalink
I have to avoid the paternalist disease of praising a neighborhood just because I wasn’t instantly mugged, punched and carjacked the moment I parked the Chrysler in Englewood. » Read the rest of this entry «
May 9th, 2012 § permalink
Was it cold on the ledge? Did the wind cut at you?
Did the lakeside damp wet your clothes, making them cling and clutch? Did the fog condense on your face, making it look like you were crying, a little lost girl on the 42nd floor ledge screaming for the firemen to stay back?
It sure looked cold from the ground. Sorry the show went on. » Read the rest of this entry «
May 7th, 2012 § permalink
“We buy and sell used magic,” Mr. Ash said from his perch behind the jar of rubber thumbs. “Most magic shops don’t want to handle that.” » Read the rest of this entry «
May 4th, 2012 § permalink
“I went to this fucking barn dance last year, like over the summer. It was pretty tight.” » Read the rest of this entry «
May 2nd, 2012 § permalink
The rabbi’s machine is missing. So’s the 100-year-old Oliver where the keys swung down from the sides.
They’re gone, stolen from Chicago with Steve Kazmier’s shop. » Read the rest of this entry «
April 30th, 2012 § permalink
“The cops should, they should go after these people. They should chase them down and give them a ticket. I get near them, I get a ticket. That’s why they have a whole, with the paint, a lane. The cops should get involved. They should at city hall get up and do something. You want to take the expressway or Milwaukee?”
“Milwaukee.”
The cabbie nodded sagely, as if I had passed a test. » Read the rest of this entry «