I woke up to a dark thunderous rainy morning where the raindrops were falling hard and fast like a marching band banging on their drums. Even though I had another hour or so to sleep I decided to get up and start my day.  It would have been hard to sleep anyway with all that noise.

I did my usual morning routine, putting the TV and the coffee on while I shaved and took a shower. Being that I had extra time, I decided to make myself some eggs, toast and watch the news. There is something to be said for waking up early, it’s nice not having to rush and relax a bit which is something that I can’t do often. 

With my raincoat and umbrella in hand out I went out into the pouring rain. I already knew by listening to the news that some of the subway lines that I take were suspended due to flooding so I had to take the bus, no taxis for me too expensive for my blood. It was going to be a long commute for sure.  I live on the upper east side of New York City and I had to go down to 14th St.

The bus stop was crowded with people all huddled together waiting for the bus under the enclosed area. After watching a few buses drive by with no room, one was finally going to stop with standing room only. Thankfully I was able to get in and find a place to stand and I was on my way. It’s amazing how one gets to know a little about the lives of others in a crowded situation such as this bus.

For example, in front of me, there were these teen girls, talking about how their parents are terrible because they don’t like the boyfriends they were dating. How this one is too old for you and the other comes from a bad family. They go on to explain how they cover for each other in order to sneak out and see their boyfriends. I wonder if I was like that at their age or if my kids will do the same to me.

Close to me was this man who looked and smelled like he hadn’t seen a shower in weeks, boy, that was tough, the smell was like an old pair of smelly socks filled with moldy cheese. Getting a whiff of him was just too much to take, in fact, if we were outside there probably would be buzzards circling around him.  Each time the bus stopped I was praying for him to get off.  Guess what? He’s still on the bus!

Further down in the bus there were a couple of guys talking loudly about the upcoming election and politics.  One was saying how the president is this and that while the others were debating who would be a good candidate for the Republican party. Politics is one area I try to avoid. Why? Because it is a subject that people feel very strongly about and I have seen many friendships go bad because of it.

Thanks to the guy near me I learned what guys would like to do to girls as his headphones were just loud enough for me to hear one rap song after another. Sitting a few feet away from me was this young woman wearing religious garb with the head scarf and long skirt covering her legs looking nervously at these 2 men who were staring at her. She could hear them talking about how these people come to our country while hating us at the same time. I stopped to think for a moment how she would feel and whether or not the guys were right in how they felt. It’s a topic that always seems to come up, especially these days.

This was one morning I shouldn’t have left my headphones at home. I could have used them to tune out what was around me. The rudeness, the anger, the hopelessness that some people feel. the lack of consideration for those who talk loud as if we want to hear what they were saying. Or to the lady talking on her cell phone making plans for the upcoming weekend. Who cares whether she wants to go out with Bob to a concert or to a fancy expensive restaurant with Kevin. It’s not my concern, I don’t care.

I can’t believe it but my stop is finally coming up. I move pushing and squeezing my way towards the back door. The door slowly opens as I get out into the pouring rain looking to open my umbrella, realizing that I must have dropped it while getting out of the bus. Not to my surprise, no one bothered to tell me, just great.

Well, I finally reached my destination getting out of that noisy, smelly bus and into the fresh rainy air only to get soaking wet, at this point, I don’t know which was worse.  Maybe I should have slept a little longer this morning. Oh well, I guess it’s just another morning commute in the city.

                                             The Wait

The clouds were moving in covering the sunny blue skies while the winds were starting to pick up as rain was slowly about to creep in.  Griffin was still a few blocks away from home so he started to walk faster trying to avoid the rain and getting drenched.

Having no umbrella and wearing his good suit, he definitely did not want to get soaked so he started to run through the streets jumping over the puddles he saw., although it really shouldn’t matter as his shirt was already covered in dirt and red stains.

The streets were not that crowded considering it was in the middle of the day, which was just fine for Griffin. One more block and he would be home as it started to sprinkle and get darker. He heard thunder and lightning nearby and you can tell it was going to pour.

With keys in hand, he made it towards the building and into the lobby. He didn’t want to wait for the elevator so he took the stairs since it was only 3 flights up.

Once inside he threw his bag filled with papers onto the couch and rushed to close the windows that were left open. He took his jacket, his tie off along with his shirt and changed into his sweats.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way”, Griffin said as he started pacing back and forth in his bedroom. Walking towards the living room he picked up his cell phone looking for messages, “nothing, nothing” he yelled.  This wasn’t his first, but it seemed like Griffin was waiting for something important and hated the fact that he had no control over it.

Griffin looked around the room with his eyes gazing at the floor, mumbling words as he continued to pace. He walked over to the window looking down the street watching people going about their business

Griffin was anxious as well as being nervous, feeling a bit helpless at times. “What could I have done differently? ” he blurted out. He walked over to the bathroom turned on the water to wash the dirt from his face and hands. As he was drying his hands, his cell phone started to ring, dropping the towel to the floor he rushed over to answer the phone, but it was only a telemarketer trying to sell him something.

Over by the counter, there was a stack of bills staring at Griffin, some of which read “past due”. He went over to look at them up, took a handful in his hand, as he was going through them he just kept on shaking his head in disgust. How can a man who was well schooled, with a good background and a family to support, be in this situation, he thought?

At that moment, there were police sirens coming from the street, Griffin rushed to the window to see what was happening. There were flashing lights as they drove past the street with the sirens become harder to hear. There was no reason why he should be jumpy, but sometimes one cannot help being in a state of nervousness.

He wipes the sweat that was dripping from his forehead and heads towards the kitchen to have some coffee. As luck will have it there was just enough for one cup.

THE END          (Why was Griffin so worried?)

  “I Forgot”

This was an idea that I had but was unable to figure where and how I wanted to go with it. I may re-visit this at another time because I like the possibilities. For now here are a couple of short-shorts to read. Hope you like them

“I forgot”, the smell of freshly baked cookies flowing in the air while sitting in front of the TV watching my favorite shows. Mom, as usual, would be busy in the kitchen waiting to take them out of the oven. I could hardly wait to eat them. The way the chocolate melted and how the dough stretched as you bit into the cookie was so amazing.

I was pretty sure I could have at least two since dinner was still hours away and for dad to come home. I can hear the kids playing out on the street, the girls were jump roping while the guys were tossing around a football. The thought of missing those warm delicious cookies melting in my mouth was just too good to miss. So instead I looked at the window while they played and my nose was on the lookout for the cookies to be ready.

“I forgot”, what it was like to get excited about that first date. There was always that energy, the excitement of being with someone new. You know the feeling, butterflies in your stomach, trying to plan the evening as to where to go and what to do. Oh, let’s not forget what to wear, yes that was a big one.

The nervous energy while driving to pick her up only fueled my anxiety. You have all sorts of things going through your mind; “what is she wearing, will she like what I am wearing, what does she like or dislike, what foods she eats, what are her tastes and so on”. Will there be chemistry between us? Will she smile at me or hold my hand when you say something sweet or funny. That warm feeling you get inside when things are going well. There is nothing like it. 

We all have been there at some point in our lives, I hope. Whether you are a guy or a girl I am sure the feelings are the same for both perhaps they may be filled with different emotions and anxieties.

Can you remember what it felt like? I guess anything that is special or unique that you do for the first time has an intensity to it that you just can’t get the second time around. You may get other feelings but not like that.

“I forgot” what it was like watching TV without all those commercials, right? It’s one after the other, back to back to back. By the time, the show returns you already forgot what the heck you were watching.

How about those commercials for prescription medicines. You know the kind where it solves one problem, but it may create about 10 to 20 other problems. Don’t you just love the warnings, “this may create heart attacks, shortage of breath, harm your liver, your kidneys, even death” but hey don’t worry at least you won’t have any more gas pains!

The other types of commercials that are annoying are the ones from the attorney’s where they want you to sue anybody for anything that may have happened. It’s like, hurry don’t waste any more time, go and sue this one or that one before your time runs out. They say they care about you, “shouldn’t you get what you deserve,” (but hey let’s not forget to mention the fact that they will happily take at least a third of what you get).

Some of them even want to sue the makers of the very same prescriptions mentioned above because it may have attributed to some sort of illness. How ironic? The fact that you knew the possible side effects before you took them, I guess it doesn’t matter, does it?

“I forgot”  How much fun it was… Ohh, Damn! This time, I really forgot what the hell I forgot.

There was a howling in the air as the winds were swirling. It was not a night to be walking out in the woods, but Rye and Jack had no choice, their car had just broken down about a mile and a half away.

It was early Friday evening, with no special plans, they decided to go out for a drive. Rye wanted Jack to go up to the north side where the lake was.

Rye had heard stories about strange happenings that occurred around there which peaked his interest.

“We have never driven there before,” Rye said, let’s check it out!

Strange happenings? Well, Jack wasn’t exactly sure what Rye had meant by that, but to a 17-year-old, it was enough to peak his curiosity. All was going great as they were heading up to the north side, with the windows down, music playing, driving through hills lined with tall trees and large rocks.

As they were driving all of a sudden the car was starting to run erratic, it didn’t have the energy it had earlier, but they continued to go on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Jacks car had slowed down to crawl, eventually not running at all.  The car finally died out about 2 to 3 miles away from the lake.

Jack opened the hood to see what was going wrong but couldn’t find anything. The car was only 13 years old with over 95,000 miles on it. It was a gift from his dad who bought the car from an auction about 4 months ago. Realizing they wouldn’t be able to start the car they were pondering their next move when almost instantly they both yelled out “cell phones!”.

After several attempts, they finally realized they were not going to get a signal of any kind from where they were. So they locked all the doors took their personal belongings and started to walk, but which way?

Not being familiar with this area they weren’t sure which way they should go. While driving towards the lake area they didn’t remember seeing anything that they could go back to for help, so they decided to continue towards the lake, they felt confident that they would run into someone that could help them. Plus there was still enough daylight left for them to go back if needed, so off they went towards the lake.

Jack said to Rye “it was a good thing they both wore their sneakers” with all the rocks, hills, and mud lined grounds, it was easier for them to move around. They have been walking for a while now with no cars driving by or any people. Rye was starting to wonder why, as he always heard that teens would frequent the area for drinking and partying, especially since it was Friday with the weekend just starting.

The winds were getting stronger with the trees shaking as they both were getting thirsty and tired. They stopped for a bit to finish whatever was left in their water bottles before they started their journey again. All they saw were trees, rocks, more trees, old empty beer cans, bottles were all along the road as they were walking through it.

With the clouds moving in it was getting darker sooner than they expected, with no ability to contact or find anyone for help, things were getting a little tense for both of them.  As Jack was walking along, he noticed something near the wooded area on the right side of the road. He went to get a closer look and noticed there were footprints, a set of small and large footprints, that looked that they were recently made. Jack yelled out “RYE! check this out!” Rye ran over and looked at Jack and said “holy crap” these look fresh”

They both let their imaginations get the best of them as they remember watching many a movie about being stuck in the woods. Upon looking at the prints again something seemed a little off about them.

Yes, they looked like barefoot prints or perhaps some kind of footwear that would make prints like that; but why would anyone walk in the bare feet out here? Would they?

At this point, they both agreed to follow the prints because they were running out of options. So off they went, following the footprints, hoping for the best.

Meanwhile, all the way, down the hill, near the entrance where Jack and Rye entered the area, a Jeep pulled over and a man got out. He was a local ranger who noticed that the sign prohibiting entrance to the area was missing. He looked around and found it behind the rocks, where branches had fallen over it.

He picked it up and moved it back to the entrance and hoped no one entered the area. He looked at his watch, he was running late, so he placed the sign back up, secured it to the best of his ability and drove off.

The sign read, DO NOT ENTER AREA CLOSED DUE TO…

To be continued…

What happened to Jack and Rye in the woods?

It was another day in the life of Zaden. The curtains were drawn, the room was dark except for the little ray of sunshine creeping in from the side of the window. He wakes up, goes to the bathroom, makes coffee and as usual, he burns his toast. He turns on the TV and channel surf’s for a bit and then turns it off, “There’s nothing, nothing to watch” he would scream towards the TV. He gets up, makes room in the crowded sink and tosses the dishes inside and with his coffee cup in hand, he walks towards the window facing the street.

He glances out the window looking at the cars trying to get around double-parked cars, while people were rushing and running into each other going to where they had to go.  Zaden takes a pause and remembers a different time, when he too was just like the people down on the street, but not anymore. Most of the time you will find him sitting on his couch reading the paper that is delivered to him every day. He prefers it that way as he doesn’t go outside much these days.

Flipping through the pages one by one, he sees nothing that interests him, “Damn, why is there never any good news, kidnappings, murders, higher prices for food and gas! what happened to the good times we were supposed to look forward to”, he blurts out.

Zaden puts the paper down, just as he is about to close his eyes to relax he says “Oh! I almost forgot to take my pills”. He gets up and starts to walk over to the bathroom reaching into the medicine cabinet he pulls out his prescription bottles. One by one he takes his pills swallowing them with a cup of water. As he does this he drops one of the pills; while trying to catch it, he drops his cup, with water spilling onto his shirt and floor. He bends down picking up the pill, filling the cup with water again, this time, he drinks it slowly and swallows his pill.

Next, he goes to the bedroom to change, takes off his shirt and throws it into a pile of clothes that are in the corner. Opens his closet, finds a long sleeve shirt he starts to button it when the phone rings, his eyes light up and he dashes into the living room to grab the phone. He says “hello”, there is silence, says “hello” again, an automated message is played telling him he has won a vacation to a Caribbean island. You can almost see the smoke coming out of Zaden’s eyes as he yells into the phone before he hangs up.

He finishes buttoning his shirt, grabs the cup of coffee, takes a couple of sips, puts it down, looks around the room, stares at the door, walks over and closes the window that was open. The couch was calling his name so he moved a few pillows around, found his spot, lied down while looking at the ceiling as he slowly closed his eyes.

Who was Zaden? Was he young? Old?  Married? Single? Overworked? Unemployed? Sick? Lonely? I think at one point we all have known a Zaden in our lives. In fact, some us may have become or is a Zaden.

A House That was once Empty

Jay and Cliff are best friends they have been so for 2 years now. They go to the same school, live in the same neighborhood only a block apart.

They are both 11 years old, with Jay being 3 months older. The live in a small town where everyone seems to know each other which is nice especially these days, where no one seems to have time for anyone, but it can also be problematic at times.

On this October weekend, there was going to be a festival in town but Cliff and Jay decided they would not go this year. They both asked their parents if they can hang out together at Cliff’s house instead. They argued that they were old enough to stay by themselves. After a little back and forth both of the parents agreed as long as they did not misbehave or leave the property. They also felt that it was safe since it was during the day so it would be okay.

Cliff was very excited that he would be able to stay home with his friend without his parents or sister, it made him feel grown up.

Cliff and his family including an older sister who just started college moved into town 2 years ago along with their 2 cats. The house they purchased was vacant for years as it was old, needing repairs and there were stories about that house for years which made potential buyers shy away from it.

The house did need a lot of work, it looked decrepit and not inviting at all. Cliff’s parents did not believe any of that stories they heard about the house, they just assumed it was old wives tales that morphed over the years. It was a big house with a large property that made them want to buy the house.

Because the house was on the market and empty for many years they were able to get a great deal which saved them money to use for repairs and renovations. They had time to fix the house because they were able to say with their parents in town while they were making repairs to their house.

In back, of the house, there was this large old structure which was rundown and old that might have been a barn at one time. “We haven’t got around to fixing that yet”, Cliff would tell his friends. Not far from there was a small running stream behind this old structure, around the stream was a wooded area with lots of trees and rocks. There were piles of leaves all over the ground while the trees were standing completely bare looking cold and harsh. 

There was a certain chill in the air this Saturday morning, a little cloudy with rays of sunshine bursting through every now and then. It was the day of the festival, Cliff’s parents were going into town while Cliff was staying behind waiting for Jay to come over and spend the day. The doorbell rang it was Jay, Cliff rushed like the wind to open the door.

They were like little kids in a candy shop all excited and happy as they both were jumping around the house. Remember how you felt when your parents left you alone at home without an adult, you felt like celebrating.  Cliff suggested to Jay they go to the backyard where the stream was to skip rocks and horse around.

After a while of throwing rocks into the stream, and jumping into the pile of leaves, Cliff turned to Jay and said. “Let’s go into the barn” Jay paused for a moment and said maybe they shouldn’t, since part of the barn was boarded up along with an old lock on the door.

Cliff asked Jay “What are you, chicken? Jay responded “NO!” but still did not want to go in, as the barn looked unsafe, not too sturdy and he also knew that his own parents would not approve. Cliff couldn’t wait any longer, he had never been inside the barn, in fact, he only went inside once with his father when they first moved in and he felt uncomfortable being there. He pulled the lock open which wasn’t locked tight at all and slowly opened the door against Jay’s wishes.

The door would not open easily, Cliff had to pull harder and as he did the door made loud creaking noises. Cliff slowly walked in through the cobwebs and dust that settled inside, right behind him was Jay grudgingly walking right behind him. They heard a flapping of wings as soon as they walked a few steps inside. They couldn’t see what it was while noticing a strange smell that was in the air.

There were things that looked like old tools, broken down stalls that perhaps horses were kept at some point.  Cliff noticed how much cooler inside the barn was compared to outside He couldn’t understand why as he kept on walking around. There was a pile of hay covered in dust and spider webs.  He heard crickets inside, hiding from the light, they were big, black and ugly as he saw them jump side to side as he walked by them.

They had to watch their steps while walking as there were all kinds of debris on the floor as well as uneven floors along the way. At this point, Jay told him they should leave but Cliff would not hear of it after not getting anywhere with Cliff, Jay decided to leave the barn and wait outside.

All the way in the back was something that caught Cliff’s eye but was unsure what it was. So he walked towards it wishing he had brought his flashlight with him. Jay felt bad so he went back to the barn. He called for Cliff, there was no answer, he yelled again CLIFF!!!!, still no reply. There stood Jay all alone wondering why Cliff was not answering and what he was going to tell his parents.

to be continued…