“That is exquisite.  Did you make it?”             “Yes, I did.  I have a small studio at home.”             “And you want to sell them through my gallery?”  She put the vase down and picked up her mug again.             “I hadn’t thought about it, really.  I was planning to sell it out of my booth at Creativity and Crafts.”            ...

We chatted for a while, mostly about art. His shop produced glassware that he shipped all over the world. Just then Elvira returned with breakfast. I don’t know if it was the atmosphere or Paul’s company or the food itself, but those were the best Eggs Benedict that I had ever eaten. The sun was fully up by the time we had finished. Paul insisted on going out with me to the car to see my artwork....

           “Well you’re a little early; most of the shops don’t open up here until 9:00.  You can stay here if you like.  It beats being out in the cold.” She poured me a cup of coffee and left a menu.  The hospitality of the diner was enhanced by the smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the ventilation system.  I took a deep breath and sighed. Breakfast for me on...

Still, I needed a plan for today. I should go to work, or look for a new apartment, or… The road to the right beckoned. Blooming Bud, three miles. I checked the odometer on my grey Volvo, three miles through a dark forest seemed pretty creepy, but. I swallowed hard and turned right toward my big adventure. The road wound along a leafless tree tunnel. Dense patches of fog covered the highway. Numerous twists...

Taillights, like columns of red ants extended into the pre-dawn gloom. A grey, mist stretched across the freeway. I turned on the radio. “Hey Gang, it’s Crazy Bill and Weird Phil, with the latest traffic report. There’s a roll over accident on the 412 at the Green Street Bridge. It seems a tanker truck hit a flatbed loaded with live chickens. Woo wee you guys on the southbound freeway are out...