Muse on Monday – April 17, 2023

In my job, I sometimes pick up newly-arrived international students at the airport. It’s fascinating to be able to view your own town through their eyes where everything is new and exotic. It’s also a great opportunity to learn about other cultures and how things are different. This meeting of different cultures and different worlds…

Unlimited Credit

Unlimited Credit The check came. “I’ll get this one.” “Oh, you will, eh? Which ‘you’?” “Let’s see. Do they take Mastercard?” “Use one of the visas.” “Here’s one: Randall James.” “That’s a platinum card. Save that for something big.” “How about this one: Adelbert Hanspeter.” “What?!” “What’s wrong?” “That’s my grandfather.” “Maybe it’s someone with…

The Impossible Circle

The date was December 13, 2022. That’s important, as you’ll see. I was walking to work, the rain pattering in fitful drops, not enough for an umbrella, but just enough that your coat is wet through by the time you arrive. I reached the crosswalk on 38th and Maple and retreated under the canopy of…

Muse on Monday – April 10, 2023

Today is the last day of a 5-day weekend we got at work for Easter. The nice thing about vacations is that they are a change from the normal routine. This is why a lot of stories take place when people are on vacation since they are in new places and having new experiences. However,…

A Bunch of Triangles

A Bunch of Triangles “What were you thinking?” I blushed. “It was an art project, sir.” “Art? What about the Prime Directive? We do not interfere with cultures that haven’t made extraterrestrial contact.” “It was just a bunch of triangles . . .” “Yeah, 500-foot-tall triangles! That’s not going to go unnoticed!” “It was mostly…

Muse on Monday – April 3, 2023

Personally, I love the word “quirky”, maybe because it describes a lot of what I do. If you look up the word, it means doing something in a unique way. It’s often linked with humor. So how do you write something quirky? It could mean different things to different people, but I’ve always seen it…

The Devil Missed His Connecting Flight to Georgia

The Devil Missed His Connecting Flight to Georgia Harry was taking a walk when a morose imp approached him. “Hey,” it said listlessly. “You want to have a competition? If I win, I get your soul.” “What if I win?” Harry asked. “You get this aluminum kazoo. It’s a kazoo competition.” “Shouldn’t it at least…

Muse on Monday – March 20, 2023

It’s kind of amazing that if you have a full-time job you spend a lot of life doing that. At the same time, unless your friends or family happen to be in the same field or the same office, they know very little about what your actual day to day life is like. Work can…

Molly’s Cut

Molly’s Cut It took years to find the hidden alley where Molly’s shop lurked. She leered at me. “I sell one thing: time. One amount: forever.” I swallowed. “How much?” “Pay in kind, boy.” Her sapphire gaze wormed into mine. “Twenty years.” I coughed. She scoffed. “Fool! It’s water from an infinite well. I deserve…

Muse on Monday – March 13, 2023

In stories there are a lot of possible sources of conflict, from external sources like an enemy, a rival company, a personal rival, etc. or from internal sources, like doubt, past trauma, addiction and so on. For this prompt, let’s look only at physical danger, where possibly your life or someone else’s could be in…