Missouri pubs don’t show CNN — It was seven p.m. Jenny was upset when I said I was going out for a drink. I have any drink I desire at home, but I was going out anyway. I was pissed. You know how it is, just get fucking mad with everything and everyone. Three nine year…

America is sliding toward autocracy. — Mrs. Braebrooke, our classroom teacher, rolled down a map of the world from its anchorage on the ceiling. The width of the map stretched almost across the room. She held a long thin cane in her hand, similar to one dad might tie up tomatoes, and pointed to a large…

(A ghost story…or not) — After asking about the cemetery last evening, the one seen in the photographs hanging in the hotel room, I rose early to begin my two-mile trek alongside the river, following the directions of the hotel owner. …

There’s not much to know. I’ve been fortunate. Now I write. — I started life in an orphanage. Actually, not strictly true, I started life being hidden beneath a shrub on a roundabout in Gants Hill, Essex. I was found by a young couple leaving the Odeon cinema (since demolished) having spent their evening watching a Spencer Tracy movie, Edward, My Son. …

Is there something in your house that might be classed as antique? —

#5 Do you believe in ghosts or spirits? (Or, what is a muse?) This is a bit of a cheat for this prompt 5. It was written a while ago when Texas was going through a winter without electricity, and how those people were suffering. Yes, I totally believe in spirits, I believe in their help and their guidance. …

#6 Do the effects of ageing bother you? In the last three days, after seven different flights, to seven different airports, moving from shuttle to terminal, eating crap, drinking myself thirsty, I wonder if I handle travel as well as I once did. Yes: The effects of aging bother me. The thing is, on a personal level, it’s…

#1 A Glimmer of my Day It’s 4:00 a.m., I’m in my study earlier than usual (usual is around 5:00 a.m.) Today I will be flying to Colorado with Jenny to visit my grandchild, Forest, who is going to be 3 years old this weekend. Jenny is busy packing. Our flight leaves STL (St. Louis Airport)…

Are you superstitious? Mind if I join you? Don’t you love this group, so caring, inspiring, and talented. I feel like I know so many of you very well, not intimately of course, just, you know, sort of liking all of you. …