Category Archives: Stories

Separation

Daily Life, mur, Reasons for Things, Stories

In high school, my boyfriend was my best friend and refuge from a world I don’t understand. We knew from the outset our relationship would end when we left for college. The idea of going to the same school didn’t even come up for discussion. One of the reasons our relationship worked is because of the expiration date. Knowing we weren’t together forever was the pressure valve on any disagreement. We stood by each other dreaming of different futures and were content for the company. Neither of us saw a future in Memphis and pretending otherwise was silly. Continue reading Separation →

Hiking

Book, Future Plans, mur, Stories

I went snowmobiling in Steamboat Springs, CO when I was 16. All of my good vacations were other families’ trips and this was no exception. On the first day, we took ski lessons. I had the muscle tone of a veal cutlet at the time so the result was lots of falling down. The very next thing we did was ski lift to the top of the mountain where there was a very nice restaurant. The plan was to ski down. With me and an 8-year old in the party, the decision was made to take the winding green circle path to get back to the lodge. Continue reading Hiking →

Tweet-a-lee-dee

Art, Daily Life, mur, Quick Thoughts, Random, Stories

I stopped reading Facebook about a week ago. Instead I let people at the local bar update me on the news. Ironically, I’m still on Twitter where no one ever mentions Trump’s tweets. It must be the eye of the storm or something. Can’t possibly be that Facebook is the main engine fueling the hype in modern media. That would be crazy talk. Then again, that’s my Native American honorific – Crazy Talk. Seriously. I was inducted into a tribe during one particularly expansive mescaline-induced spirit quest. It involved lots of menthol and Clint Mansell.

Eagerness

Art, Daily Life, January 2017, mur, Random, Rants, Reasons for Things, Stories

Upon divorcing, I changed my entire approach to dating. I used to go for what I want fairly directly without many complaints. My opening of, “Hey, I want you,” generally followed with “Uhm, okay.” Hardly resounding enthusiasm but I didn’t really require that. Generally my hapless victim hung around until I wanted something different, usually 3 to 6 months later. Serial monogamy is what they call it. Sometimes, significant bonds formed and losses were painful. That never stopped me from moving on. I didn’t feel capricious because I thought that was dating. In hindsight, I call it coping. Continue reading Eagerness →

Is it 2 1’s or 2?

Art, Daily Life, Games, January 2017, Mecca, mur, Quick Thoughts, Random, Stories

Sitting behind a group of friends playing games together. I’m at work and playing a video game. The game is a grind because nothing in my life is easy right now and my mind wandered. Only voices to me, I developed caricatures of the group at my back. The main voice, describing the game seems tall and thin. The others are a various smattering of the Rat Pack mixed with the Lil’ Rascals. I can’t say there’s a huge span of demographic in my images. Most of my visual thoughts occur in grayscale. There’s a smattering of sepia when I’m feeling nostalgic. I’m just not that great of an artist. Continue reading Is it 2 1’s or 2? →

LaTanya

Art, Book, Daily Life, January 2017, mur, Reasons for Things, Stories

During X-ray school I was assigned to The Med for my first clinical rotation. As the closest level one trauma center for most of the mid-South, The Med’s x-ray department is notorious for its fast pace and extensive workload. Techs trained there are among the best in the city. I spent the entire first day practically shaking with anxiety. One of the techs took me under her wing to help assuage the intimidation factor. She introduced herself as Tanya but I soon learned her actual name is LaTanya. Posing the obvious question she replies, “Most people just hear the Tanya so I don’t bother with my whole name anymore.” Continue reading LaTanya →

Performance Art

Art, Daily Life, Future Plans, January 2017, mur, Stories

Last December I taught 5 volunteers how to do about a dozen yoga poses in around 45 minutes. Tonight I taught about about a dozen unwilling people 2 yoga poses in around 5 minutes. It was a personal challenge to myself. Not endorsed and certainly not approved by management, I went old school Magic Hat and used my 5 minutes to do whatever the hell I want. I used a unique approach to defeat stage fright in 2014. I found places to be on stage with minimal expectation. At Spillit, the only thing I had to do was try. It started my entire theory – being on stage isn’t hard, caring what the audience thinks is. Continue reading Performance Art →

January 2017

Art, Book, Daily Life, First Impressions, Future Plans, January 2017, mur, Reasons for Things, Stories, Yoga

The days of trusting my gut are only beginning and no one can make me second guess those decisions anymore. Having a good time doesn’t happen in just one place. This artificial time delineation is the easiest to wrap my tiny human brain around. New Year’s Day feels fresher after all the parties instead of hungover, like the day after Halloween. For the next month I’ll do at least two things every day. Yoga and writing. Forcing my thoughts out into the open is the only way to flush out good ideas. The yoga is for my sanity. Continue reading January 2017 →

Real-Time Draft

Art, Book, Daily Life, mur, Quick Thoughts, Random, Stories

I am not always the hero in my story. That’s why I’m a writer. Wearing cliches as if the world’s a masquerade, I hide in plain sight most places I go. When ever in doubt, I carry a camera. The opening lines to everyone’s story start the same. I was a person in a place at a certain time. The more interesting you try to make it the less flexibility you have with details. Stick to the truth and there’s an endless supply of embellishments. Honesty means you have to tell the bad parts with the good. And believe me, the stories you don’t want to be honest about are the best ones to tell. Continue reading Real-Time Draft →