Getting across thirty ninth street. Thirty ninth was a busy street. You wouldn’t think it. But it was. Because drivers used it as a shortcut. To shave a few seconds off their commute. To get on with their important jobs. And, important lives. It was twelve thirty. Drivers grabbing a quick take out. Before they…
Kenny let the belt out just a tiny millimeter. To me it felt like a yard. I lurched forward. Out of control. Or, so it seemed. A fierce jerk brought me back. Into balance. “You’re okay. Now let’s take that step.” Kenny said. “And this time hold onto the railing.” I lifted my left foot….
t 3 I would solve the laundry problem later. I needed to eat. I scrapped together a bunch of change. Limped to my apartment’s front door. Got my cane from where it was leaning against the fridge. Unlocked the door. Went out to the corridor. Turned. Locked the door with my key. Limped down the…
I was napping. The phone rang. I limped to the kitchen to answer it. “Hi, Lyle” I recognized Nancy’s voice. “I think I left my Day Planner there. Can you check?” I limped to the living room Didn’t see the planner. Then I looked under the sofa. Voila! The wallet must have fallen out of…
A knock sounded at the door. Like a starved woodpecker. Like a hestitant Jehovah’s Witness. I limped to the door. Peeked through the spy hole. I saw two women. Like Jehovah’s Witnesses. But they weren’t carrying satchels. Or, huge purses. I opened the door. Two brunettes. One about five two. The other five six. One…
I still remember the strangeness of listening to the theme from M*A*S*H (the movie) in the darkness of the huge cinema on Calgary’s 16th Avenue. It was the Summer of 1970 and I must have watched it with my ex-wife but I don’t remember her presence. I sat, as if alone, in the dark struck…
Epilogue as Prologue I died three times, that sixty third year of my life. The first time I died it wasn’t my fault, really. It was his fault. My doctor’s fault, that is. He had prescribed Morphine for my pain. I cleary remember him saying, “Now you know you to be very careful with this…
His name was David. He was a good looking man in his forties, always well dressed with a regal bearing in spite of his disability. He was likely taller than me but I would never know that, for that first time I met him he was confined to an electric wheelchair. I never learned by…
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE EXCERPTED from CRASH! All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts. AS YOU LIKE IT, ACT 2 SCENE 7 Nurse Jackie was right. Like a family gathered around…