Itzhak poured another finger of bourbon for the tragic man sitting in front of him. The people who came into his bar on Christmas Eve were almost always tragic. Drunks who’d alienated their families, old men with nobody left, or… Continue Reading
I was walking through downtown San Jose, passing the Convention Center, when I saw a man wearing a business suit, long overcoat, and bright red Converse sneakers. The suit looked like it fit him well, a bit rumpled in places,… Continue Reading
“I read minds,” I told the man across from me at the speed-dating table. He cocked his head skeptically. “I do. Literally. Think of a number.” He did and I read him. “Three-point-one-four-one-five-nine,” I said immediately. That was pi, an… Continue Reading
The room is dimly lit. The woman who just impressed you by gulping her Budweiser in one of those craft-brew bars is now asking if you have children. Before this, she’d liked the way you won the game of pool… Continue Reading
I walk in. They hand me a name badge. Immediately I ask myself why am I attending my fiftieth college reunion? The few who aren’t dead look like they should be. I’m gone. No boring stories, bad food and cheap… Continue Reading
Friday night I played another piano bar. If you’d told my younger self that all those years of practice would amount to this… Well, I probably would have been ecstatic, to be perfectly honest. But I was young and dumb… Continue Reading
“Wow, that’s gorgeous. Where’d you get it?” Mariel asked Reno. “That new place on Main Street.” Mariel admired the tattoo and touched it lightly with her fingertips. His skin was cool to the touch, and the tri-color tat popped against… Continue Reading
Foamy beer sloshed from a dozen tiny plastic cups onto Alanna’s lap. “Shhhit!” She leapt off the barstool, glaring at the redhead who had spilled the tray of drinks. The cold liquid now resembled a kindergarten accident on her jeans.… Continue Reading
Steeled for another Friday night gig behind the club’s horseshoe bar, Carol fashions fruit garnishes as DJ Danny and his tattoos play the usual songs. Between lemon twists and orange peels, familiar faces order a beer, a punch board, or… Continue Reading
“I’m giving up writing,” the man declared as he slid his empty mug towards the bartender. “Sure, giving up writing. Maybe do something that will let you pay your bar tab instead,” the stout man behind the counter quipped. “Very… Continue Reading