“I’m going to get one of those truffle-hunting dogs.” “I thought they use pigs to hunt truffles.” “I’ve seen dogs do it.” “Yeah?” “Some dogs. Dogs with good noses.” “Dogs with pig noses?” “I don’t know about that.” “Some people use dogs to hunt truffles.” “Dogs don’t eat truffles.” “Pigs eat truffles?” “Pigs love truffles. You know how we like bacon? That’s how pigs…
Back in the Eighties sometimes we would spend long hours drinking cocktails and talking about the things people talk about when they spend long hours drinking cocktails. There was an old editor who lived in the village and enjoyed taking small groups of young writers out for dinner and drinks. We usually met at this grand old hotel near the plaza, a vast adobe…
In the Kingdom of the Blind, the one-eyed man is supreme, and a one-eyed Jack could become a one-eyed King. In the Kingdom of the Blind, the eyeglass salesmen go broke while the monocle salesman grows fat with affluence due to his exclusive arrangement with one-eyed King Jack. The royal eye deserves the best after all. A different monocle for every occasion! The kingdom…
“So that’s over,” he said. “I reckon we can go back to forgetting about it.” “Sometimes you just gotta move on,” she told him. That much was a simple truth. Lots of other people had moved on. Other would. But for some reason it was not for him. “I can’t forget.” “You won’t forget,” she argued. “That’s just your way. It always has been.”…
A foul cloud of yellow-green smoke moved slowly down the alley. Dogs ran from it, howling and barking as if chased by demons. Children wailed as it passed, their eyes stinging and their skin blistering. Those fast enough to shutter their windows were spared the worst of it. But cracked wooden shutters with open seams did not provide complete protection, so nearly everyone in…
The door was locked, the key tossed over the wall and into the night. His brother and the rescued hostages were safe on the other side, headed for the waiting boats and their escape. Tetsuo turned and faced the dozen warriors amassed before him. Some of them stood with their jaws slack, amazed at the sacrifice of this lone samurai. Two of the swordsmen…
“What are you doing for Christmas?” Shorty asked me. “Same thing I do every year. Nothing.” “Do you celebrate the solstice?” I do celebrate the solstice, but I lied and told him I didn’t. “My wife used to celebrate the solstice,” Shorty told me.
“So how did it go on Friday?” “Pretty good. Dinner, drinks. Then she wanted to go back to my place.” “That makes things easier.” “Except in the morning, it’s either driving or cab fare.” “You’re a gentleman.” “Not really. But I have my standards.” “So did she stay the night?” “And then some.” “What do you mean?” “She woke me in the morning, if…
Mark this item off my bucket list: “Get name mentioned on Boing-Boing.” The latest issue of Pravic magazine, in which my short story “The Robot Felt” appears, was noticed by the editors at Boing-Boing.
As he finished putting gas in the car, she asked if she should buy more water. He said it was up to her. It depended on whether she wanted to die of thirst or over-hydration. On the way there she asked if she could listen to talk radio. He didn’t mind, he told her, as long as he didn’t have to hear it. Silence…