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Proof’s Hammer
January 9, 2010 in 299 Words, Business, Class Work, Education, Fiction, Flash Fiction, language, Philosophy, School, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: language, Philosophy, School, Threat, Work | by davidbdale | 9 comments
Black and White each had doubts that the other existed, but for White the question had consequences. Read the rest of this entry »
Disproving Angels
June 10, 2008 in 299 Words, Entertainment, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, How-To, Humor, Literature, novels, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Short stories, Stories, Technology, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Dialogue, Doubt, Faith, Hope, language, Rhetoric, Science, Technology | by davidbdale | 8 comments
—So, what are we looking at here?
—You tell me.
—It’s a . . . smudge, right?
—Charlie says it’s the soul.
—He also thinks gluons are guardian angels.
—That’s hard to disprove too. Read the rest of this entry »
Feeling the Feeling I Felt
April 7, 2008 in 299 Words, Art, Books, Entertainment, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, language, Literature, Love, Marriage, Poetry, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Art, Beauty, Bed, Hope, language, Love, Marriage, Poetry, Sex, Touch, translation | by davidbdale | 7 comments
The next day, I understood French. Standing by the curb in my bathrobe and slippers on a frosty morning, looking for the paper in the shrubs, I saw the sparkling blades of grass and heard the crystals crunch beneath my feet in a suburb of a suburb of New York City—all right, Jersey— Read the rest of this entry »
20% More Synonymous
March 22, 2008 in 299 Words, Books, Business, Dictionary, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, language, Marriage, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Ambiguity, Deeds, Hope, language, Loss, Love, Lovers, Mystery, Phone, Separation, Threat | by davidbdale | 4 comments
When I’ve finished writing my dictionary, things will be different in this world among English-speaking people and between you and me. When we first learned them, words were something hefty we could thrump with our knuckles the way we test a melon. Read the rest of this entry »
Rosa Parks Gives Up Her Seat on the Bus
February 15, 2008 in 299 Words, Fiction, Flash Fiction, novels, Politics, Race, Rosa Parks, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Hate, language, Politics, Race, School, Speech | by davidbdale | 7 comments
Yes, we understood it was a provocative topic. That’s why we chose it. To provoke thought. Next.
No, the question is not racist. It’s a speculation about race. Let’s be clear about that. Next.
Well, because it’s frankly ridiculous to base admissions entirely on test scores. Read the rest of this entry »
Heart Is Killing
December 20, 2007 in 299 Words, Family, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Immigrant, language, novels, Separation, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Family, Immigrant, language, Separation, translation, Yearning | by davidbdale | 5 comments
Dear mother, father dear sisters, dear wife, babies I am not sadness dying. That pain does not kill me. The stronger is making me I am sure when I work too long if I will ever come back. You send me everything from your letters that home is new. You are spending my money I hope. Read the rest of this entry »
Overdue Books
December 16, 2007 in 299 Words, Books, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Library, novels, reading, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Book, Fantasy, Humor, language, Library | by davidbdale | 9 comments
We first noticed changes at the library where we thought books knew their place. Every morning the new librarian had to track down The Wanderers and return it to its shelf. Read the rest of this entry »
Circle the World
September 29, 2007 in 299 Words, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Stories, Travel, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Adventure, Girl, language, Romance, Travel, World | by davidbdale | 19 comments
The girl who circled the world traveled sometimes by water, sometimes by wind, arrived always lightly carrying nothing but what she knew, departed again when she had delivered it all. If they were wrong, the lessons she taught, she taught wrong lessons well. Read the rest of this entry »
Swallowing Light Bulbs
July 9, 2007 in 299 Words, Fiction, Flash Fiction, language, Literature, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: Destiny, language, Performance | by davidbdale | 14 comments
He wasn’t always the man who swallows light bulbs. He did at one time have an act. Like many others, it amounted to filling in blanks: an adjective noun of noun and adjective noun, it verbed across the noun when the noun was adverb, but when it fell, it fell like a load of bricks. Read the rest of this entry »
Trolley Problems
March 15, 2007 in 299 Words, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Literature, reading, Short stories, Stories, Very Short Novels, Writing | Tags: language, Logic, Philosophy, Rhetoric, Romance | by davidbdale | 4 comments
A runaway trolley is racing downhill. If I hurry to the switch, I can divert the trolley to another track, that is, if I understand switches. Sunlight crinkles on the storefront windows, Read the rest of this entry »
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