Category: Flash Fiction

Arnold Fights Aging What is the solution to aging?  Arnold felt his body changing and his personality with it.  He felt uncomfortable, minimally in control of his body and thoughts.  He had never thought much about his body, although he should have lost some weight, exercised more–he went to a gym, caught athlete’s foot.  When […]

Beach Time We all need memories of beach time.  Summer was fast approaching and Bernie knew his family would want to go to the beach.  Bernie remembered beaches as a child.  His memories started when he was five, in 1950, in Brooklyn.  Summers were hot.  The white sand was  hot.  The Atlantic Ocean was a […]

Using Your Time When Retired Stanley finally retired at 70.  He had worked diligently since 20 and just as diligently looked forward to no longer working.  Suddenly, after decades, he was here.  Where was here?    He knew he would not miss working—what he would miss was doing something, that sense of purpose a job […]

Common Knowledge Common knowledge is that the best way to start your day is with a decent breakfast.  Arnold’s mom told him that.  So did his dad.  Later, his wife.  And his children.  It was common knowledge.  Yet Arnold rarely ate a good breakfast.  It was common knowledge he should be malnourished, tired all day, […]

George Does Not Read Novels As he grew older, George read less fiction.  In his teens and twenties, he devoured novels and short stories but by the time he reached sixty he had not read a novel in five years (since Stephen King’s latest, which he finished because of the narrative drive.)  George read, but […]

Living Apart From Your Children Most parents living apart from their children settle on frequent dinners or, when living in different cities, zoom calls.  Where families once lived together, now the kids move out when  they hit adulthood.  Families physically distant keep in touch with a mix of love and anxiety (usually with more love.) […]

Alfred’s MacGuffin Alfred loved movies and enjoyed many favourite parts–the end confrontation in The Maltese Falcon, the swordfight with a skeleton in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, the redemption of the anti-hero in Stalog 17.  Gene Kelly Singing In The Rain.  King Kong in New York.  Lawrence in Arabia.    Whether using his TV, computer […]

Nothing To Say In a world full of people who had plenty to say, Irwin had nothing.  His friends had lots of opinions, Irwin zero.  His friends thought it odd that he had no opinion he wanted anyone else to hear.  He kept his opinions to himself.  What was wrong with that?  Plenty–in these days […]

Facts?                                                                   Harold had a tough time processing each day’s news.  Truth was increasingly hard to find.  His friends struggled through the same problem. The news media mirrored the divided nation.  For truth, people loyally believed their political side, either on the right or left.  Major events were impossible to get the truth.  A war was […]

Do You Have An Escalator?  Can you avoid the rough steps of life by riding over them on your personal escalator?  Rising effortlessly above life’s disasters?  It is a wonderful image—gliding upwards through life, taking not a single step, riding over problems, gliding past bad patches.  Better than wings (where you have to keep flapping […]

The Summer of 2036 The summer of 2036 was tough for everyone–humans and animals and plants.  Drought for some, flooding for others.  Rising oceans washed away coastal areas.  And the heat.  Dreadful heat, surrealistically bitter cold every freezing winter.  Followed by summers that scorched. Pierre lived near Paris.  One morning he looked at his large […]

This Access Radio features a great discussion on disabilities and medications, with host Dave Thompson and guest

A Modern Career Choice Carl’s choice was critical to his future happiness.  He was 18 and ready to start the rest of his life.  Work would dominate his waking hours, five days every week.  What career should he choose?  He ruled out student loans–with their forever debt—which in turn ruled out education and training.  His […]

A Modern Career Choice Carl was 18 and ready to start the rest of his life.  Work would dominate his waking life, at least eight hours every weekday.  His choice was critical to his future happiness.  What career should he choose?  Not using student loans–with their forever debt–ruled out education and work training.  His career […]

Gifting Arnold, 80, loved giving gifts. His children and grandchildren lived in other cities, so they had to receive gifts by mail, not in person. He sold his greeting card company while he still could—in this new age, he lost business to email gift cards. People used to purchase a card or gift by going […]

Desmond’s New Trees It was a bad time for trees.  Climate change, pollution and wildfires challenged them—but they endured.  Their suffering caused by people.  Desmond knew he must act—he believed the world needed to  treat trees better, and so he literally created new branches.  An experienced agriphysicbiotheorist, he developed unique seeds and started an orchard.  […]

This is the extended version of the CFRO FM, Vancouver, 57 minute broadcast. This version runs over one hour, eighteen minutes. Some audio difficulties which I did my best on. This is Ed’s first time as an interviewer, and he interviews his friend and guest, Rebecca Clifford. You likely have not heard of her, she […]

Me And Semaglutides The tides have washed upon my shores and there is nothing semi about them.  I had weighed 204 pounds, over a year managed to get it to 190.  I did not ask my doctor about semaglutides to lose weight but because I had read an article in the NY Times about the […]

Bernie Questions New Meds It was not easy, being 80.  Bernie naturally wondered why death from aging had not yet been cured.  Was it a conspiracy?  Bernie’s first thought: funeral homes, secretly lobbying to ensure business continued.  Next possibility: Pharma–big pharmaceutical companies made more money keeping folks alive only temporarily, benefitting from turnover.  None of […]

Arnold Wonders What Women Think About Could it all be about hormones? Arnold, a novelist, knew women thought—but he had no idea about what or how it was different from how men thought.  He assumed women were concerned about careers and accomplishment, mating and having children, stability.  At least, that is what women told him, […]