Photo by Terrye Turpin I moved into my first apartment in 1979. The place came with shag carpet striped in an acid trip rainbow of purple, green, and brown. By the time my roommate Ann and I lived there the rug had collected a gummy overlay of tobacco and pot smoke, beer, and other substances we … Continue reading The Summer of Lemons
Tag: Humor
What Will Answer When You Call My Name
Photo by Terrye Turpin My son, Andy, told me about the stray cat when I stopped over at his house for a visit. The cat, a scrawny orange and white tabby, wandered over to him at the park near his home. “I shared my snack with it,” he said. The cat, hungry enough to eat a … Continue reading What Will Answer When You Call My Name
Give me Rockets Like Flowers
I am not especially patriotic, but I love a good fireworks display. I’m not sure how I came to this attraction to all things bright and sparkly. It isn’t nostalgia. The only fireworks I remember in my childhood involved a car trip with my parents down a deserted country road. We stopped outside the city … Continue reading Give me Rockets Like Flowers
Don’t Tread on Me
Photo by Ryan Grewell on Unsplash I’ve never liked escalators. I look at an escalator and I see big metal teeth waiting to grind up my feet. I have a problem with the last section, the one that goes under the metal strip at the end. I imagine myself being sucked down under like a cartoon … Continue reading Don’t Tread on Me
Here in the Dark Beside You
Carlsbad Caverns — Photo by Terrye Turpin I hesitated in the candlelight in front of the locked metal gate seven hundred and fifty feet underground. The cave was slightly warmer than the inside of a refrigerator and smelled of mildew and the earthy scent of bat guano. As I inhaled the cool, moist air I glanced around me … Continue reading Here in the Dark Beside You
The Changing Room
Photo by Terrye TurpinThe scar on my breast is a dark reddish brown, fading slowly at the edges. It is curved, like a parenthesis. There is a slight indentation, a flat spot under the blemish that shows when I stand in profile. The scar is hidden, even by my most revealing bathing suit. Most of the … Continue reading The Changing Room
Once for Yes and Twice for No
Photo by Terrye Turpin- seen in an antique store in Denison, Texas“Do you love me?” she asked. “Clap once for yes and twice for no.” He froze, too long considering his reply. Photo by Terrye Turpin — Denison, Texas
The Guardian
To her chagrin, she discovered that the entrance to the underworld was not guarded by Cerberus, the monstrous three-headed dog, but rather by a small, disgruntled toad.
Online Dating Tips for Senior Citizens
A Guide for the Out of Practice Romantic Photo by Terrye TurpinAfter my divorce, I decided to try online dating. Any sane person would not take back up an activity they hadn’t pursued in over 30 years. I was caught up on all the past seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and I needed something to do in the … Continue reading Online Dating Tips for Senior Citizens
Don’t Fence Me In Wichita Falls
My fiance, Andrew, loves Wichita Falls. We drove up there this weekend and he pitched an earnest plea for us to buy his childhood home. Besides the lack of a down payment, I was not swayed by the quaint architecture or the quiet neighborhood. "They had Fox News playing in the hotel dining room," I … Continue reading Don’t Fence Me In Wichita Falls
Let's Get Out of Here 