Beans for Breakfast

I was underdressed for the rain and I wandered into Borders Books to escape. I glanced through the little islands of paid-for-placement books. The mild jazz soundtrack was overpowered for thirty seconds by a loud “fssssssstt” from the espresso machine up on the mezzanine. When the espresso machine finished, the cash register started – an [...]

Am I crazy or did I just break my big aluminum floor lamp with a jacket? I was pulling the jacket up off a chair. The jacket sleeve flopped off to the side and brushed against the lamp. Then the lamp just crumpled. There’s no other word for it. It crumpled. The top of the [...]

A black shape tossed by the wind among overhead powerlines caught my eye. When I turned and focused on it, I saw that it was a crow being blown sideways, with its wings spread out. I thought it was dead or stunned – you usually don’t see crows coasting with the wind the way seagulls [...]

The tissues are packed tightly into the jumbo-size box of off-brand Kleenex. The first one is lost when you try to dig it out. It comes out shredded. The second tissue comes out with some resistance, but mostly intact – any tears in the second were made in your efforts with the first tissue. The [...]

Walking in through the front entrance, instead of the usual sidedoor, after my blind date, still a little tipsy. There’s a steep set of six or seven tall steps that lead up to the first level, the main staircase is across the lobby. My apartment is on the basement level, so I’m going up and [...]