2 refills before

(From (Elias Almeida's) Heartbreak Comedy Tour.)

WARNINGS: Language.

Rock 'n' Read

*

Elias had to write probably at least six punchlines by tomorrow, and he couldn’t because he had other things to do.  One of those things was to call the pharmacy.  There was nothing like calling a pharmacy for refills on one’s psychotropic medication to stifle the creative juices.

Make some jokes.  YOU’RE LOSING IT!  Make some jokes.  Hellish.

Thank you for calling CVS Pharmacy, congratulated the automated man’s voice, and Elias laughed because even automated men thought he had any choice in the matter.

The Dragging

WARNINGS: Paranormal themes and some language.

*

Most of my high school friends volunteered for the war effort after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  Call them crazy if you like.  I know it can be hard for kids these days to understand the conscious choice to leave home and family to feed the fire of patriotism in your soul.  But I know some of you will understand, and you’re the ones I’m chiefly talking to.

I went and volunteered, too, in fact.  They didn’t take me.  I’d been in an automobile accident just a few months before, one that left me with a bum leg that took quite a few years of physical therapy to overcome.  It still gives me a little trouble sometimes, but I attribute most of that to the fact that I’m an old dog now.

If it matters either way to you, my name’s Elmer.  You’ll need to know it later on.

Flip and the Shopping Cart

(From Flip Ransomed, chapter 13.  Setting: 1976.)

WARNINGS: Kidnapping themes.

Rock 'n' Read

*

Flip was in a horrendous mood.  The scrape across the left-front side of the Chevelle was just as bad as Joe had supposed it would be, and it seemed to have left an equally horrible scrape across Flip’s very soul.  If he did actually have a soul.

He’d been able to fix the flat tire easily enough.  Duh, Joe had thought to himself as he’d meandered aimlessly along the grassy highway shoulder, he’s a mechanic.  I almost forgot.  He doesn’t rob people and kidnap them and drag them across the country for a living.  Joe had eventually plopped down in the grass, sat cross-legged, and picked at stray weeds while Flip had gone to work.  The mechanic had sullenly ignored Joe, refusing to enlist his help in heaving a spare tire out of the Chevelle’s trunk, though it had looked awfully heavy.  He’d then pulled out a tire jack (also from the trunk), dropped to his knees, and set about cranking the car up at a tilt in order to switch the tires.  All of it he’d done with sharp, angry motions, like the kind Joe used to slam doors after an argument with his mother.  Except Flip’s anger was much more frightening.

Let it Be

(From A Taking of Ashes.  Setting: 1980s.)

WARNINGS: Language, alcohol abuse, and allusion to sexual abuse.

Rock 'n' Read

*

Travis passed Joy one of the root beer bottles and one of the packets of jerky, tearing into his own with his teeth.  She thanked him and punched his arm when she caught him tipping the hip flask over his soda.

“Stop that.”

“Right – sorry.”

“Why do you drink, Travis?”

His gray eyes glinted at her from inside the shadows of the car.  The dim glow of the gas station made them the only part of his face with any light at all.

“It hurts less,” he answered at last, hiding the flask in the back seat instead of inside his jacket.

“Than what?”

“Everything else.”

SOTD #6: We can make it happen

I'll just go ahead and own up to it: today we have another analysis featuring Chicago, one of my favorite bands (if you hadn't assumed that yet).  Since the first song of theirs I featured was more about the title, I feel obligated to showcase one that's all about lyrical cleverness.

In fact, this song is all about its lyrics from the get-go, meaning you know it's about words the moment you read the title.  Any guesses?  Here we go... *cue electric guitars and trumpets in an unusual but perfect medley of originality*

DAY 2: OPEN WATERS. NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN.

(From The Good Ship Reverie.)

WARNINGS: Paranormal themes.

Rock 'n' Read

*

The Reverie’s strangeness had inspired a number of weird things in Daniela’s mind, but the dream put every one of them to shame.

SOTD #5: Better than drinking alone

Let's talk about a song that reads more like a straight up poem than almost any other song I've ever heard.

I'm talking rhyme scheme, rhythm, the works.  If you sit down and read this song without music, it's still pretty fabulous.  Put it with its music, and it's classic.  Move over, everyone else.

What song is this, you ask?  Well, you probably know it... *carnival-like piano music plays*