1969 & Then Some

I felt better on the whole, prudent and wise, practical in the near term. Friends agreed: I played it for the best. They also saw Betty as a fun-loving coed but iffy candidate for spaghetti and acid. Flighty, skittish and vulnerable, unlike us veterans, she would fare...

Toucan Whisper, Toucan Sing

What of Baldo, lanky, mute, machete in hand for coconut splits to please and serve? What can possibly come to him? With a stubby hand on Baldo’s shoulder, Milo whispers, “El Capitán de las Tortugas!” Antonio steps in. “Capitán? What turtles need a captain?” “¡Ay,...

Whirlaway, the rule of the sea,

A cloud break drifted under the moon and mercifully passed after lighting up the no-man’s-land ahead; natty white manes and disfigured faces howled the pleas of all the lost souls of the sea, crowded that night in tumultuous endeavor. They stood on their heads, turned...