No one knows that my affluent aunt bequeathed me her favorite thing in the world, the beach house she bought many years ago on the Florida Panhandle. I’ve been renting it out for years actually, though I haven’t visited it since I was a kid. She knew how much I loved her beach house and how overly giddy and thankful I was every time she took me on one of her vacations. My guess is that’s why she gave it to me; I may have been the only one in the family to love it as much as she did. I think she knew I understood how special a place it was. It’s been many years since I last saw…

Last night at around 1am, my wife and small child walked to my car after a night at my bro-in-law’s house. He lives in a sketchy suburban neighborhood so we are always conscious of our surroundings. As I was getting ready to sit in the driver’s seat I noticed a young black man staring at me with determined eyes. I stared back and nodded but he just stood there staring back at me. It made me uncomfortable but my fatherly instincts kicked in and I squared my shoulders up to the man to give off my best fake, “You wanna go at me bro?” bravado. As I did, the man raised his hand and pointed at me as though to…

Hope. It really is the most powerful yet dangerous and cruel of human traits. It forces us to defy logic, sometimes at great cost. Other times it guides us through treacherous waters and back into the arms of our loved ones. We cannot live without being in its presence yet we can die tragically while being draped in it. It is truly a paradox. And yet this is exactly the type of life I have been living, within a paradoxical world. Logic says that my soul mate died eight months ago. Logic says that my unborn daughter also perished in an accident on that rainy evening. Her name would have been Angela, after her mother, Angelica. Logic says that it…

When people who died and come back to life say they saw a bright light, they are full of shit. It’s not necessarily their fault though. The mind has a difficult time figuring out things it has never experienced, therefore the mind cannot understand. I’m one of the special, select few who have experienced death and rebirth…often. Before you start banging your head against your keyboard, let me first say that I am not some silly movie monster or a ghost writing you from beyond the grave (at least I don’t think so). I am human, just like you, and I am a God-fearer, just like many of you, and I enjoy the vices of life, just like you. The…

It’s hard to imagine what it is like to be kidnapped. I’ve tried, often, probably every day for the last four years. Imaging the unlimited scenarios, anything from the kidnapper’s first contact to the actual abduction and the subsequent transport, has plagued me for many sleepless nights. It is hard not to focus on the betrayal he must have felt trusting that stranger. The absolute fear and possible pain he felt while maybe getting dragged away into some van or truck. Thinking of how they may have subdued him if he started to fightback. Sadly, the only thing that brings me some measure of comfort is imagining him poking an eye out or busting the son of a bitch’s testicle…

I guess I won’t escape the water on this spring evening. As rain pounds on me with the rhythm of an icy waterfall, the pain of the cold is warming me more than my nightgown ever could. The warmth of my breath fights through the bitter darkness of the evening only to be beaten back by the unrelenting frigidity of the wind at my face. Perhaps the warmness of the gulf would radiate just enough to find some comfort in this depressing storm. The waves quickly roll in, one after another, bashing my stomach and chest. I turn my head to avoid the violent aggression of the water as it pummels me and attempts to intrude my body through my…

The flames are in full force now. Glass is shattering from the heat generated from this inferno. Even the charred wood is beginning to splinter, unable to withstand the weight of the 2nd and 3rd floors above. You know, it is fires like these that made me want to become a fireman. To see raging death dance across the floors, walls and ceilings is an incredibly beautiful and mystical sight. Don’t you agree? With each person I pulled out of this burning tomb I saw more and more flashes of cameras from my fans and admirers. It feels incredible to be loved and honored like a hero. It is intoxicating even. I cannot get enough of it. That’s why I…

“Oh look baby, the price of gas is a whole dollar cheaper at that gas station! Pull in and top off.” “Awe bay, it’s packed over there. It’s gonna take twenty minutes to just to get to the pump.” “So what? The money we save right now pays for your lunch tomorrow. Don’t be so lazy!” Ron reluctantly follows his wife’s request and pulls into the local Shell station to take advantage of the amazing deal on gasoline. The longer he waits the more and more aggravated he gets. The person directly in front of him is taking an abnormally long amount of time to fill up his small Prius. He also seems to be stroking the grip of the…

When I was younger I used to work as a night auditor for a very popular hotel chain in New Orleans. This particular hotel was once an old warehouse in the Central Business District. It had a long history that dated back to the Underground Railroad where tunnels built throughout the building were used to secretly lead slaves to boats on the Mississippi River. When the hotel owners started to demo the property to convert it into a hotel, they found old distillery equipment used during the prohibition days. The building was saturated in fantastic and interesting history. I was told that during the renovation a decision was made to keep much of the existing brick and woodwork. This gave…