Jet engines rumbled the concrete floor. The stench of fuel permeated the air in slow, thick waves, resembling a mirage and adding to the dreamlike atmosphere. I slouched under an umbrella, pen in hand and scribbling on a notebook. My throat was dry. It hurt to swallow. For the past hour, I’d told myself it …
I stared at the phone. My torso felt like an ice box. Maybe I could weasel my way out of this? It was a stupid idea. Nobody wanted to talk to me. I reached for my phone and pressed on the digit buttons. The phone emitted tone after tone like a dying robot. More than …
In the early winter of 2012, I stood in front of my condo building and stared at my parked car. Someone had scrawled on my driver’s side window in burgundy gunk. Vandalism? I lived in Aurora, Colorado, which has a crime problem, but the area felt safe. A neighbor was a meth addict, but the …
In 2007, I sat at a table for dinner with maybe fifteen other people as we slowly revolved – slow enough to be unnoticed by some and fast enough to make others nauseous – counterclockwise to view the stale surroundings of Tampa International Airport. Our group was eating on the top floor of the airport’s …
I grabbed the edges of the six-foot metal basket, bent my knees, leaned forward, and adjusted my alignment as if setting up a pool shot. The basket probably weighed over 1000 pounds. Maybe close to 2000. I gave it a little push to test which way it rolled, stepped to the left six inches, bent …
Rex, his wife, another couple, my wife and I shared a big booth to celebrate our recent marriage. I called it a wedding aftershock party. A few days earlier, the temperature had dropped more than 50 degrees to below freezing just in time for our outdoor mountain ceremony. The day after, it had rocketed back …
Billy’s snores rumbled through the dark hotel room, like a dirt-stuffed garden hose choking and sputtering. He rasped more air into his lungs, like a dentist pulling back his drill before plunging forward again, penetrating deeper into our brains. Three of us shared the hotel room: Billy, me, and Wally. A little before midnight, I’d …
As Wally and I drove east on 285, the mustard yellow and tomato red of Wells Fargo and Target came closer and closer, then fell behind us. Tokyo Joe’s. Noodle & Company. Just like any other Denver plaza – but these images simmered on the front burner of my memory. It was Day 2 of …
My partner and I stood 25 yards away from the first truck as it rumbled through the bay doors and hit the rubber barrier. One worker hopped out of the cab as the other unlatched the trucks doors. They helped the truck vomit its contents into bags. Dirty pants, shirts, floor mats, towels, mop heads, …