The news reports didn’t exaggerate. The waves were huge, as big as Hugh had ever seen in California. Slabs of water, rhinos, the surfers called them, which didn’t stop dozens of thrill-seekers in black wet suits from stepping into their path. [Read more...]

I reach into my pocket, pull out the scope and place it next to the M1 Garand on the sleeper ties in front of me. I see the back of his head as he holds his breath. [Read more...]

Please allow time for the audio file to load. Upturned Sky was written and performed by James Claffey.

Leave is such a little word . . . A full word. A suitcase burst wide open on an airport carousel. [Read more...]

The four of us were at that difficult age when young males do not yet need to shave but do so anyway. It was early March, a day of false spring but still nippy. Underdressed, our cold-weather gear prematurely left at home, we were shooting hoops in the half court up towards the Sherbrooke end of Addington. Separated by just one row of triplexes from the Expressway’s all-devouring maw, it’s a spot that looms so large in the mythology of me and many of my peers, living and departed, that I tend to forget it’s not necessarily world famous. So I’d better provide a bit of background. [Read more...]

His Adam and the Ants records clinched it. Merry said she didn’t believe him. Bill thought she was pretending not to believe him. Either way, there was a pleasant quiver in Bill’s belly. Merry said she would not believe him until he actually proved he owned two Adam and the Ants records. Just like that she was coming over to his apartment. Right after she finished her coffee and her slice of Rolo Cake. He could barely touch his Chocolate Eruption. [Read more...]