Expected reading time: 15 minutes

“Dude, puff-puff-GIVE!”

Steve awakens from his stupor. “Sorry, bro, I was spacing,” he says with an embarrassed grin.  He holds out the pipe to me.

“What, I gotta go over there and get it?!” I ask in mock insult.

“You think I’m getting up and going over there? Bro, I am way too stoned to move!”

“What if I’m too stoned to get it?”

“Then I guess you ain’t getting any…”, he trails off, as he pulls the pipe back towards himself.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I drag my butt out of my chair, snatching the pipe out of his hand. I look at him for a moment while shaking my head.  “F**king stoner.” We both laugh uproariously.

Continue reading “Blessed are the Peacemakers” →

Expected reading time: 10 minutes

“Lord, I’m sick of this!” I ranted while driving.  “I just want to see anybody win for a change!”

Anybody?

“Yeah! Anybody!”

Okay.

It was early on a Saturday morning and I was driving to work. I worked as a slot cashier in a local Indian casino: someone who carries large sums of money in a pouch for slot payouts. My main income was tips, and when nobody wins, you don’t make much in tips.

Over the last few weeks, the guests were not winning. And the rent was coming due. 

Continue reading “An Unexpected Visit” →

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

“You’re next buddy!” my friend said with a wicked grin. 

I didn’t want to be next. Not now; not ever.  It was wrong and I knew it; not on a conscious, rational level, but at a deep-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach level. A nauseous, churning sensation told me to run as fast as I could. I would have, if I hadn’t been drinking.

Continue reading “A Victimless Crime” →