STAGE FRIGHT

Dr. Strawn De Leon needed a fresh nickel-cadmium battery for his new electronic sphygmomanometer — it had a flared plastic handle that made it look built for speed. He’d sent his nurse to the Battery Shack outlet store just across the river, and we waited in uncomfortable silence; me more uncomfortable than he, I suspect, [...]

RIGHT BANK INTERLUDE

I was exploring on my bike the San Antonio River just south of the city along the region where the historic missions can be found. I was on the east side of the river between Mission San Jose and Mission San Juan walking my bike atop the river levy. I angled down to the flood [...]

TWO QUARTS LOW

My truck had been running a bit rough, so when I stopped this
afternoon at the Handy Andy on Flores for soy milk and laundry
detergent, I picked up a couple of quarts of motor oil. I tossed the
groceries on my front seat and popped the hood. I was right, the dip
stick came out dry but for [...]

THE WEIGHT OF THE YEARS

For almost a month now I have been living here in San Antonio down on the south side. To occupy my mind from gnawing on itself with the fears of unemployment, compounded by an inherent aversion to job-hunting, I’ve taken to long afternoon bike rides along the light industrial side streets off Presa and Flores.
I [...]

PENNY CANDY W/ PHENOBARBITAL

“I dreamed of pink neon tubes, curly and fat, buzzing like a hive of happy bees. They lit my way through a maze of gumdrop trees and kitty cats….” My court-appointed shrink tapped his lips with the end of his pencil. He wasn’t buying it. “And I took a narrow, dusty path,” I continued. “Into [...]