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Perfect Season
January 8, 2009 in 299 Words, Childhood, Entertainment, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Humor, Philosophy, Short stories, Sports, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Daughter | by davidbdale | 8 comments
Some teams just don’t have it; they suffer their greatest loss before the season begins. Others never win a game but end the season undefeated. My daughter plays for such a team. Read the rest of this entry »
Executioner’s Apprentice
December 17, 2008 in 299 Words, Business, Confession, Crime, Death, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Justice, Occupation, Prison, Short stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 8 comments
I never talk about my job but, since you asked, I’d like some extra copies of the paper for my church. So. By the time I arrive, the prisoner is strapped to this crucifixion table here, Read the rest of this entry »
Squeegee Man
November 20, 2008 in 299 Words, Business, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Money, Occupation, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels | by davidbdale | 8 comments
He slops his filthy water across my sparkling windshield and across my gleaming hood and over my shining fenders three mornings a week when I pause at his intersection, caught by the light. Read the rest of this entry »
Two Giraffes
November 3, 2008 in 299 Words, Church, Disability, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Health, How-To, language, Literature, Love, Memory, Music, novels, Religion, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 8 comments
He’s never done me any good, as far as I can tell, nor any harm. I hope He’s as ambivalent about me. We’re at Halloween mass and the children have come as animals from the ark. Read the rest of this entry »
Particle Accelerator
September 21, 2008 in 299 Words, Education, Entertainment, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Literature, novels, School, Science, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 9 comments
Ron and Don are in the same class. Jesus wept. Lovely, youthful, naive boy-god Jesus didn’t know the half of it. I go behind the burning bush outside the cafeteria and puke. They could so easily be separated, I tell the principal Read the rest of this entry »
Foreplay
September 16, 2008 in 299 Words, Death, Dialogue, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Health, How-To, Literature, Love, novels, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 9 comments
—What if she dies while I’m away?
—You can’t stay home until she dies.
—I can’t leave either, while she’s alive.
—I don’t like where this is going. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome Signs
August 24, 2008 in 299 Words, Crime, Culture, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Health, How-To, Immigrant, Literature, Medicine, novels, Politics, Security, Short stories, Society, Stories, Travel, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 4 comments
The sign at the border with firm politeness welcomes me in my own language. I take it on faith it doesn’t play favorites but welcomes readers of other languages with equal grace, though why it thinks the Chinese will follow this road here I can’t imagine. Read the rest of this entry »
Feed the Jar
August 15, 2008 in 299 Words, Business, Childhood, Crime, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Literature, Money, novels, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 1 comment
He didn’t sleep at night until he had fed the jar. He hustled pool and won: nobody figured a kid could shoot. Mondays he caught shifts at the deli unless the regular slicer came back sober from the casinos. He ran deliveries of whatever didn’t burn a hole in his hand until nothing felt hot. Read the rest of this entry »
How the Kite Got its Tail
August 6, 2008 in 299 Words, Culture, Entertainment, Fable, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Literature, novels, Science, Short stories, Stories, Technology, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 6 comments
Nature didn’t stand a chance against ruthless inventor Volante Volanti. By carving a simple channel through a gentle rise, he changed the course of a river for the noblemen he served, thus moving the border between two city-states and annexing to his benefactors’ gain the fragrant fields of the left bank valley, its shining marble quarries and the towns wherein their bitterest rivals quartered and trained. Read the rest of this entry »
Space Junk
August 3, 2008 in 299 Words, Business, Entertainment, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Humor, Literature, novels, Occupation, Sci-Fi, Science, Science Fiction, Short stories, Space, Stories, Technology, Travel, Very Short Novels, Writing | by davidbdale | 7 comments
I do so much more than gather data. My predecessor, the AIM12, was essentially a gather-and-analyze drone, but even she had vested interests, if I may say—and because of my protocol, I may—before they unloaded her higher functions and transferred her to payroll. Read the rest of this entry »
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