Eggnog, the Guinness of dairy products, There are two types of people: those that hate it, and those that love it. I was born on December 22nd, just three days before Christmas Day. I can remember my mother talking about how she drank it by the...
My family still visits now and then. They check-in, a text once every so often, an email. I don’t blame them. They act concerned but keep just enough distance not to become wrapped up in the stench that follows me. My parents still hold onto...
There are numerous games that circulate the internet. Most are written for fun. A rare few are written based on real experiences of those who found the worn corners of reality. Some are trying to quantify it into a recipe as a way to process...
If you see this man on the side of the road, don’t drive home. We have this urban legend in my city called the Wrong Way Man. Supposedly, you might see him standing on the side of the road when you’re driving. Some say it’s always...
His name was Connor. Dustin Connor, but he never went by that name. Some called him Con or Connor. I called him Mr. Connor. Mr. Connor was the bravest and most imposing man that I and many have ever known. He stood well over six feet...
Dak and Chadwick each lit up a smoke and cracked their windows, the excitement of a good day fishing warming their spirits despite the cold wind that suddenly filled the cab of Chadwick’s truck. The sporadic raindrops that began to fall as they left the...
Darren stood at the bow of the boat, staring at the beautiful topless woman that floated and bobbed in the water nearby, her fire-red hair fanning out into the sea around her. She was smiling at him. It was the most gorgeous smile he had...
Gary came out of his house, letting the screen door slam behind him. His best bud/ultimate nemesis, Ray, was waiting on his bicycle at the edge of his lawn. Gary ignored the spitballs Ray was sending his way and went around the side of his...
Marisa had the nightmare again. It was the same as always; she was only seven or eight years old. She was at the big park down the block, and there was an enormous garden with a hedge maze. At the entrance to the maze stood...
5/24 12:18 a.m. – Christ what a haul! I honestly don’t know how truck drivers do this day in and day out. Sitting for eons on end, bored out of your skull. Navigating legions of douchebags in minivans and SUVs who think they own the...
The whale pod of water tankers flowed past Sophie as she sheltered in the verge of the hard shoulder. A piece of plastic from the ditch propped beside her kept away the worst buffeting of the wind. Vast wheels of the trucks hit the road...
17-year-old Marco Romano lifted the metal baseball bat over his head. It felt heavier than it should have, but he tried his best to hold his arms steady and tightened his grip. He was about to bring it down on a whimpering and writhing girl...
It’s nearly Hanukkah again, the Jewish winter holiday also called the Festival of Lights. To most people, that refers to the oil that miraculously lasted much longer than it should have, keeping the eternal flame burning until more oil could be made. For me, though,...
The evening would arrive before long, but Marian wanted a bit more time outside. She hoped to study the birds that still hopped and pecked at the dusty grounds around Ernstmoor Estate. Sometimes, they would turn their heads, directing one of their black and focused...
Donald opened the front door, looking for who rang. There was no one on the porch of the big house or the walkway below. He looked around, eyes scanning the street, but he saw no one. Maybe some teenagers were playing their pranks, but Christmas...
Kerry had his hands in his pockets as he traversed the trail, walking quickly but still unable to escape his own mind. It was freezing, and he wasn’t at all dressed for it outside of his boots, but the air wasn’t any colder than he...
Tucker yawned, but he finished it with a smile. He had waited a long time for this day. It was his first Christmas with his new wife and stepdaughter, Tiffany. She hadn’t been hateful up to this point, but she hadn’t connected with him either....
My cousin AJ told me this story in 2006. He was twenty-seven years old and would soon be on his deathbed. AJ claims that he got sick because of what happened to him back in 1998. He was nineteen then. Now that he’s gone, I...
It hasn’t even been a day since I first laid eyes upon it. I was dropping my girlfriend off for her last in-person yoga class before everything went back on lockdown for the winter, when a portrait hanging in the display window of the shop across...
The lavish banquet that had been so expertly laid out on the long, elegant refractory table before me could only be described as perfect. Truly, utterly, perfect. It was the most sublimely archetypical Thanksgiving Dinner that I could imagine. The table was draped in a...
