Page 34 -

Food for Thought
It had been over an hour, and Cy still saw no sign of his wife. She’d gone ahead to the canyon, promising to wait for him at the entrance. But when he arrived, she wasn’t there. The less fit of the two, he was ac- customed to falling behind on hikes with her. But this was the first time she wasn’t where they’d planned to meet up, and it caused him growing anxiety. She was the one with the picnic basket.
~
Sweet Memories
“World War Two was the good war. It was a very spe- cial time. Sometimes I wish I could turn the clock back to 1943,” said Perry.
“Yeah, it was the best years of my life. The girls were so friendly to GIs, and the music back then was just wonderful... those big bands. You never wanted the whole thing to end. There was such excitement in the air,” waxed Bill.
“Saw a lot of the world and made some of my best friends back then. Those were the days. I miss them,” added Craig, declaring Rummy as he spread his cards out on the table.
“Well, sounds like you boys owe a great debt to Hit- ler,” observed an attendant at the veteran’s retirement home.
The three old soldiers nodded in agreement, failing to catch the irony of the young man’s words.
~
Born at a Disadvantage
In Basil’s world, twenty-percent of the population was mortal. The rest of society was designed to live forever. He was among those in the former category, and this did not make him happy. Most in his group shared his displeasure.
~
Recognition
The young author made sure he backed up his day’s work. If something should happen to him, he wanted the world to know it had suffered a grave loss.
~
Hungry for Love
Sarah knew it was the only time she’d have dinner with the man sitting across from her when he said, “You enjoy your food, don’t you?”
~
Insomnia 7
The thought life is catastrophic kept Kris awake. The thought he was powerless to do anything about it had the same effect.
~
Man’s Best Friend
He couldn’t account for the rage that rose in him when his beloved border collie repeatedly disrupted their walk to investigate a scent in the high grass along the road. This anger is something primordial, in my DNA, he thought. He’d yanked hard at her leash and ordered her to move along, but she’d ignored his commands. On one or two occasions, he’d come close to kicking her and only kept from doing so because he felt he’d then have to kill her to prevent her look- ing at him with an expression of betrayal that would break his heart.
~
When a Fellow Worker Has an Epiphany
Harlan came into the office and we immediately sensed something bad had happened to him. From his downcast expression, we thought either a loved one had been injured or had died or his wife had left him. We said nothing to him, and he barely looked in our direction before going to his cubicle. At break time, everyone in billing, except Harlan,
27
Insomnia
Excerpted from Insomnia 11, MadHat Press, 2020.
michAel c. Keith