Never – A Short Short Story

 

Prologue

Millicent had never been the subject of a short story before. She had been mentioned in a weird poem her 10th grade boyfriend had written for her when he was high on pot, but never a short story.

 

The Interpreter - Gallery #4

 

Chapter One

Millicent had never been in an art gallery before.  She did go into one with her father in Sausalito when she was 11 and stole a pair of earrings, but never as an adult.

Chapter Two

Millicent was hired at the last minute to sub for Berthe, who had come down with Shingles and couldn’t work. She had subbed last minute plenty of times for Sid the alcoholic, but never for Berthe. 

Chapter Three

Millicent had never seen a painting of a naked person in person before.  She had seen pictures years ago in some dirty magazines her brother had, but never a painting.

Chapter Four

Millicent had never worn stripes and polka dots together to work before.  She had worn stripes and paisley together once to her husband’s Christmas office party where she drank too much Vodka, but never stripes and polka dots.

Chapter Five

Millicent had never taken the N Judah trolley to the end of the line before.  She had taken the M Owl all the way to the end before, when she was depressed about her oldest son being caught putting on her makeup, but never the N Judah.

Chapter Six

Millicent had never had to actually interpret the word ‘breast’ in public before. She had to sign ‘butt’ plenty of times, but never the word ‘breast’.

Chapter Seven

Millicent had never eaten Sushi before but that is where the class went after the gallery.  She had eaten raw chicken once and got sick, but never fish.

Chapter Eight 

Millicent had never worn salmon colored eyeshadow before but got some for Christmas and decided to try it. She had worn peach colored eyeshadow before, but never salmon.

Chapter Nine

Millicent had never contemplated divorce before but she saw her husband with a big busted blonde in a Starbucks across the street from the gallery as they walked in.  She had contemplated killing him before, but never divorce.

Epilogue

Millicent divorced her husband, wore salmon colored eyeshadow every day, gave her peach colored eyeshadow to her son, got a fish tank, wore stripes and polka dots together often and started painting for fun.  Her best friend Geraldo even posed for her naked once.

The End

Merry And Happy May You Be

 

Merry and Happy

 

Merry |ˈmerē|

adjective ( merrier , merriest )

cheerful and lively : the narrow streets were dense with merry throngs of students | a merry grin.

(of an occasion or season) characterized by festivity and rejoicing : he wished me a merry Christmas.

[ predic. ] Brit., informal slightly and good-humoredly drunk : after the third bottle of beer he began to feel quite merry.

PHRASES

go on one’s merry way informal carry on with a course of action regardless of the consequences.

make merry enjoy oneself with others, esp. by dancing and drinking.

the more the merrier the more people or things there are, the better or more enjoyable a situation will be.

DERIVATIVES

merriness noun

ORIGIN Old English myrige [pleasing, delightful,] of Germanic origin; related to mirth .

Happy |ˈhapē|

adjective ( -pier , -piest )

1 feeling or showing pleasure or contentment : Melissa came in looking happy and excited | [with clause ] we’re just happy that he’s still alive | [with infinitive ] they are happy to see me doing well.

[ predic. ] ( happy about) having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with (a person, arrangement, or situation) : I was never very happy about the explanation | I can’t say they looked too happy about it, but a deal’s a deal.

[ predic. ] ( happy with) satisfied with the quality or standard of : I’m happy with his performance.

[with infinitive ] willing to do something : we will be happy to advise you.

(of an event or situation) characterized by happiness : we had a very happy, relaxed time.

[ attrib. ] used in greetings : happy birthday.

[ attrib. ] fortunate and convenient : he had the happy knack of making people like him.

2 [in combination ] informal inclined to use a specified thing excessively or at random : our litigation-happy society.

PHRASES

( as) happy as a clam ( at high tide) extremely happy.

happy hunting ground a place where success or enjoyment is obtained. [ORIGIN: originally referring to the optimistic hope of American Indians for good hunting grounds in the afterlife.]

DERIVATIVES

happiness noun

ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense [lucky] ): from the noun hap + -y 1 .

Yes, this is what I hope for you.

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Drawing by Marty Coleman

Definitions by us all

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The Disillusioned – A Short Short Story

 

 

The Disillusioned - A Short Short Story

 

Chapter One

Rita got the invitation the same day her date stood her up (she hadn’t had a successful second date in 2 years) so she decided to go to the opening alone. She knew the show would have nudes in it, but didn’t realize every single painting was of a blue, slack-shouldered loser with a big dick. This depressed her until she finally broke out laughing and said to the young woman standing next to her, “This show is ‘truth’ – men are just big dicks.” The both laughed and became friends.  They left the gallery disillusioned and went to see a movie about a female army ranger who was stuck in the mountains and had to eat her fellow male army ranger who died to survive.  That made them feel better.

The End

Who the Eyes and Ears Believe – The Senses #1

 

Who the Eyes and Ears Believe

 

Eye Believer

What is the most compelling thing in a murder trial?  The eyewitness testimony. It’s graphic, emotional, and compelling. Why? Because the person saw it happen. That’s strong.  It’s also often wrong.  Eyewitnesses are known to actually be notoriously unreliable in many cases.

Ear Believer

Have you seen the Christmas movie ‘White Christmas’?  The housekeeper is an eavesdropping busy body who overhears a partial conversation over the phone and makes assumptions, and shares them, about the whole nature of the conversation. It leads to a big huge mess.

Smart Believer

So, what is the solution to this dilemma of having something seen or heard that seems to be rock solid?  Withholding judgment is how I deal with it.  I say to myself, What’s the rush? Why do I have to go on social media or to my friends and say something RIGHT NOW about this event that I have heard or seen just a fragment of?  Why not be patient and wait to find out more about what is happening? Why not investigate and look deeper?

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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman

Quote by Anonymous

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Sunrise at Starbucks

 

I got up early on the day after the Dallas Marathon that Caitlin and I ran in.  Caitlin and Linda were sleeping in so I went off to Starbucks to draw and have some coffee.  

 

Studying at Starbucks

 

The sun rose as I started to draw, hitting this woman who was studying intently.  The pale yellow glow was focused directly on her and I quickly started getting her down on paper. After I had drawn her top half she got up, picked up her backpack and laptop and looked like she was getting ready to leave. Luckily she was just going to the bathroom. When she returned she crossed her legs as you see here and I was able to finish drawing her without it looking disconnected from the top.

She kept her head down for a good portion of the time but I had to draw her facial features from memory since I hadn’t drawn them while she was sitting the first time and now her face was turned at an angle.  I kept waiting for her to turn back to the right side of her page so I could see her face straight on again but she didn’t.

I showed her the drawing after I was done.  I try to gauge the reaction from the people I draw and I definitely felt that while she was impressed to some degree, she was also perhaps a bit freaked out by it. I introduced myself, gave her my card and told her to contact me if she was interested in seeing the drawing after I had finished it.  I asked her name and I thought she said ‘Alton’ but when I repeated it back to her she said what I thought was ‘Alta’.  So, until I hear otherwise, she is Alta!

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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman

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