Blog Archives

Story 1 of 52: Role Model

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Role Model © 2018 R.D. Girvan

 

The horses died first, then the donkey. Well technically, the neighbors died first, followed by their dog. Then the horses and the donkey.

Mike, digging a trench with the backhoe, tried to make himself laugh so he wouldn’t cry. Should have called that stupid donkey ‘Dug’ instead of ‘Doug’, he thought,  L – O – fucking – L. 

He scooped a fresh bucket of dirt, backhoe lurching as the track caught the edge of the pit. Through the dusty windshield, he could see his wife stagger across the yard. His laugh crumpled up and died in his throat.

…

Hello, Gang of Glorious Readers (both of you! haha), Rhea here.

I am entering stories into contests, some of which do not allow any publication of any kind, even on a baby blog like mine. So if you would like to read the entire story, send me your email address and I will forward it to you.

Best always, RDG

 

 

Freakin’ Awesome Album to Spend Your Gift Cards on: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

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I discovered some great music recently: the self-titled album by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.

The first time I heard “S.O.B.” (you know the one, it’s not spelled out in the song, goes, “Son of a *itch! Get me a drink!”) on CBC Radio 2, I was galvanized by it, consumed. I wanted to hear it again; I actually reached for the dash, trying to replay the song. (My car doesn’t do that and we don’t have satellite radio…)

S.O.B. was so good that I ordered the disk, and WOW! The tracks are fantastic blues-y, rock-y songs that demand – and reward – your attention. You can hear hints of Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison, but while other artists may have provided inspiration, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats have their own sound.  Also, the tracks are all very different from each other, the songs are not samey-samey. The rest of the disk proves it: these guys are anything but one-hit wonders.

I love the music but I really respond to the words. Their lyrics feel vulnerable without wimpiness and honest without drama. They sound like a bunch of big strong men who hurt sometimes but still can rock your World.

 

Carpe that Diem

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Carpe that Diem ©2017 R.D. Girvan

A little while ago, this happened:  Three times in one day, I approached my computer to research… what? When I sat down, my mind was as empty as the search field. I had no idea what I had been about to Google.

Sometimes, memories scatter before me like tadpoles in the shallows, blurry black shapes highlighted against a ridged sandy shore.  This time, though, there were not even shadows darting away. Nothing. My inner eye showed only an image of blank sand under a foaming wash.

All my life, I have enjoyed my intelligence, my mind. I love puzzles, puns, cool words and finding the perfect way to turn a phrase. Making a new realization, mastering a subject, taking a mental leap and landing upon firm logic – these things delight and fascinate me.

I have always envisioned my mind as a magnifying device – a telescope or a microscope – and will mentally “dial in” my focus when I am working hard on something. And that day, my mental telescope had lost its bearings and was gawking at a black hole. My microscope, dialed in all the way, was straining hard, illuminating a blank slide.

That experience made me decide: today. I do things I want to do today.

While I still can, right? Write.