New and Selected flash, some of it less than 100 words. It's available as a free PDF from the Buttonhook Press site.
- Zen and the Art of House Painting - A naive young house painter seeking wisdom learns from an unwitting painting expert - "With the truly gifted, there is no divide between the mystical and the pragmatic"
- A Family Portrait - A very new grandfather works out his role now.
- A Porcupine Without Quills - "Writing simple sentences was just not up Will's tin ear alley. He continued to meander his way through his story, playing with words like an alcoholic performing an appendectomy of the heart" and so on. Fun.
- A Carefully Planned Evening - "When Karla arrived home the evening Ted died, the house seemed emptier than it had ever been. ... A bottle of pinot rested on its side in the fridge. She had bought it on the way home from the hospital a week earlier in preparation for this evening. ... she'd pour herself a drink, curl up into the overstuffed sofa, pull the afghan Ted had bought her over her legs, and cry like a baby."
- An Old Lady in a Floppy Hat - She's in her garden - "Two young lovers walk by, holding hands and sharing secrets. I snip a rose and offer it to the young woman. ... “Watch the thorns, dear,” I say"
- A Suburban Sunday - 60 y.o. Gil sees his 30 y.o. female neighbour naked. Should he apologise? She seems unconcerned. He recalls when he was 8 and fancied a teacher. His wife calls him in for lunch.
- It’s Not That Funny - He has a fantasy about turning down a naked Penelope Cruz. His wife knows all about it.
- Building a Wall - He builds a wall for protection. His wife asks if it will protect her too, and asks if she can help build it.
- Speed Dial - He'd been over-working. His partner is leaving him. He speed-dials to ask her to come back. He gets through to work.
- Please Hold - Feeling sad, Kate phones her sister, mother and husband, each call going bad very quickly.
- Still Don’t Know What Was in That Drink - "First time I seen her I knew she was the orneriest gal I was ever gonna meet. ... And that’s how me and your grandmama met"
- A Day at the Zoo - "Will spent the morning staring at his blank computer screen. ... He decided to spend a day at the zoo in search of fresh metaphors. ... Soon he was back in his cell, shackled to his computer, typing furiously."
- A Souvenir from Home - he steals a brick from a demolitionsite because he met his girlfriend there.
- Springtime in Mississippi - he's 26, living with his parents, no girlfriend, working in a nursery though he dislikes flowers. When his father asks him to bring home marigolds for the front garden, he does.
- Sweet Cherry - When an ex-girlfriend, now rich and married, asks to meet him, he cuts the meeting short. Too painful.
He's been nominated for at least 5 Pushcart Prizes.
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