Staring at memories, #reflections of good times long gone and bad decisions still reining #mesh into a stew of sorrow. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

#Ghosts whisper to me on occasion, usually #timed when I least expect it. They say they're a #marker of the past, of the history of a certain place, insisting they must echo things not to be forgotten. What they need to do is stop scaring the shit out of me. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues

"We need to discuss the budget." "Sure thing. I'd love to talk about #tennis." "What? That's hardly #relevant." "It absolutely is." "How so?" "Because I really don't want to talk about the budget." #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

There was nothing #specific about him. His goal in life was "to be successful." While handsome, he looked like every model in department store catalogue from the '80s. His favorite food was "soup." Just a boring guy. #vss365 #amwriting

Beware the warning of #action in repose, like the eyes of a cat, impossibly large an instant before the pounce. #vss365 #amwriting

"What #option have we?" they asked, marching towards destiny. "Many," she said, "only don't let them choose for you." And so the wise among them left the road. #vss365

Drifting off as dreams say #goodbye to #reality. What fanciful adventures await? Oh! What's this? I find #hickory flooring under the carpet in the living room. What wild concepts my middle-aged mind conjures. Still, I fist bump the unicorn eating pizza. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

Grainy smiles still warm in an old #photo. What dreams and #goals they have shining in their eyes, captured forever on glossy paper. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

"Why are you wasting your time with those #science experiments?" asked the #rich man. "To make the world better," I said. "For whom?" he asked. "But who benefits from all your wealth?" "What a ridiculous question." "Precisely," I said. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

I attended a party held at a mansion of one of the city's most opulent residents. After hors d'oeuvres, wanting to avoid empty chat with vapid characters, I walked the halls. Each bathroom had a #number of sinks. Who needs this many #faucets? Maybe to wash off the stink of caviar. #vss365 #vssdaily

I grew up on a #block where kids told tales of a group of wild bullies which ruled the streets after dark. A gang of vicious older kids with huge egos as thin as balloons. Perhaps no #myth, we fled home to safety each evening when the street lights burned. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

#Roller coaster of emotions, from resounding glee to a pit of despair. What full #measure of character does it take to stay optimistic? Don't forget your #meds, I guess. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

He never read any #literature, proclaiming he had neither the time nor interest. Thus, on his deathbed, when he realized all the adventures he had missed, he proclaimed with an appropriate lack of imagination, " #Oops!" #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

"What was your dissertation?" "Donuts." "What?" "Well, officially, 'The Baker's Dozen Isn't Enough: #History and and Societal Impacts of Donuts Since the Industrial Revolution.'" "Huh. What'd you glean from your research?" "13 isn't enough donuts. And about 20 pounds." #vss365 #amwriting

Impossible cartography, tracking the tectonic shifting #geography of the soft, purring ranges upon the comforter as they chase the sun with imperceptible movement. #vss365 #amwriting

Went to this dive bar #famous for their burgers. They didn't say how well the whiskey flows there, so I can't remember the burger. The devil's in the details, and I think he has a booth in the back of that bar. #vss365 #amwriting

In the end, they #waged war on #education, which, not coincidentally, was very much an uneducated thing to do. #vss365 #BookishTues #amwriting

Hours spent doing #domestic chores. I tell myself it's a #blessing; not everyone has the ability to complete such menial tasks or a home in which to do them. No, I still hate chores. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Sun #rays warm #cherry floors. The perfect cook regardless of season. Ask the cat pastries baking within. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Heavy fog #merges with the countryside like a murky dream. A once familiar landscape now a muted #argent canvas, waiting to be saved by a merciful sun. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Under the shimmering #arch of the canopy of a small wood, we spent summer afternoons #experimenting. Some days we'd build a fort from branches, others a space craft from the same materials. Whatever we did came from the hot #ignition of pure imagination. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

Soon the leaves will be raked to the curb like yesterday's #trash, but I enjoy them for now, a red blanket hugging summer's lawn against the #creep of winter's bite. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

In my dream, everything went back to normal. Birds sang, the sun shone bright, and people went about their daily tasks as if existential dread didn't loom ever present. There was a #martian who followed me around and hit rim shots of a #snare, but hey, it was a dream. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Opaque #fog hung across the valley. Even the sun had no power over it. We stayed upon our porch, wondering when it would dissipate. Then we heard something that let us know sometimes what's out there should remain #unseen. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

There is no doubt who rules this house, two co-equal #kings whose domain I am fortunate to share. Clean for them, provide ample feasts, and in the evening I become their throne, with just enough #energy for pets to earn their praise of purring. I'm a grateful subject. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Spilled tea into the #saucer not a waste but an #opportunity to lessen the #crunch of an over-baked biscuit. (Or cookie, for those against or less attuned to alliteration.) #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

Splitting #atoms. Rendering matter for humanity. What could could have come from it? Instead, we found ourselves catching snowflakes on our tongues during #nuclear winter. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Just #another night, but light a fire in the #hearth, and let's call it #deluxe. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

Warm autumn ruined the season, normally the leaves #spiking like orange, yellow, and red fireworks, now just muted #undertones of nature's beauty before the winter rest. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

He thought he had all the #verve in the world, baffled why no one else saw it. He wore a #leather jacket and everything. He wondered if he needed to grow a mullet. That would probably do it. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Not one to break norms in the past, one day, he decided to act out and got an #earring in a single ear. It was as though he saw a George Micheal album cover and thought, "How rebellious." A real Midwest milquetoast #libertine. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Cigarette butts nestled upon cold #ashes loiter in a tray beside a plate of forgotten #peas. Best accompanied by an empty glass and hardened memories. Maybe tomorrow's sun will hatch better times. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Good and evil #clash on repeat, an eternal struggle. Why some have broken moral compasses seems an unanswerable riddle. Follow that arc as it continues to bend. #Granted it is slow, but #only_one solution is acceptable: justice. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

I always thought introducing someone as an #associate screamed #power move. But I got greedy. It doesn't work with cats. "This is my associate, Gingersnaps." Nope. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

What magic conjurs dreams? Where a bookstore winds on for miles, like a cozy labyrinth. Deep within, a #cow reads old #pulp mysteries, guessing at whounit, but she's only right on occasion. Ah, the brain's fertile weirdness in its subconscious state! #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Time sprinkles glitter on memories, smoothing harsh edges on the past, offering the mirage of an #oasis from #remorse. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Afternoon lost in a #book, the day a #blur as I devour the story of someone else's experiences. Fiction fostering empathy is never wasted time. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

I escape the sepia streetlights of the city into the #country, where moonlight filters through naked trees to #shred the hillsides blue. Strange how I enjoy the muted palette after the sun's retreat. Night's cool #conundrum. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

Lies spun into a #web so intricate no one can #sublimate the truth. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

As a candidate, he hadn't realized how #sonorous his #lapel pin had been. It hearkened back to when he had put up colorful posters with vapid promises as he ran for student body president, except now a tiny enamel flag seemed to do the trick. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

The #caprices of the day's weather wrote his menu. A sticky, humid day drew a fresh cobb salad. A crisp autumn evening hung with woodsmoke called for a hearty #chili. So after the tsunami hit, we had sushi. I didn't ask where he got the fish. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

The #piano banged out an upbeat ragtime tune. Impossible not to tap one's foot. But it would change. It always does. Like dark clouds at a picnic, or a friendship gone sour, the music always seems to change to a minor key. Sadness an #eventuality. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Percussion prodigy, destined to be a #bellwether in the #field of drumming, he flew to musical fame on his simple enjoyment of #banging on things. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

Slate grey skies at the beach, pillowy clouds the world's comforter. Crisp, brackish air grabs my cheeks like an aunt I haven't seen in too long. I squeeze #blond sand between my toes. Sometimes, I don't need the sun to #reinvigorate my soul. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Linear plans for the day derailed by an unhealthy #extrusion. Packed lunch and calorie count discarded like forgotten detrius. This is the power of the #street taco. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Taking #stock of his situation, no good solutions presented themselves, so he decided to fight and #stride into oblivion. Oblivion had no way of understanding what it had coming. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Ideas #branching into nonsense. #Synthesis of memories, thoughts, and speculation blend to a dream. Fantastical but wrapped in the mind's slight of hand. Can cats fly? Perhaps here they can. Limit pizza intake before bed. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

The #charmless river flows lethargic, waters the color of coffee with just too much milk. The boat floats without haste into the delta, and there we find the blossoming #lotuses, their gentle colors #conspiring to warm the coldest of hearts. #vss365 #vssdaily #BookishTues #amwriting

Cherish those true to their character. Funny how some can #rein in their moral #compass. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting

Stoic cat, lithe with the #potential for majestic. Resembling the great beasts of its ancestors as it perches upon the #border of a sunbeam. Ears flatten, eyes widen to saucers, and in a flash, only chaos in the dust motes remains. Behold the zoomies. #vss365 #vssdaily #amwriting