“Ahhh! Coffee!” said our resident cowboy, Steve, raising his cup at the philosophy counter. “Let’s raise our cups to whichever Brazilian came up with this stuff.” Very slowly, Herb Collins stood with his cup of coffee there in the midst of culture and education at the Mule Barn truck stop. “Actually, Steve,” Herb said, in [...]
Dud was awfully quiet all through the daily dissemination of anything on page one of the Valley Weekly Miracle, which wasn’t like him at all. Just sucked down caffeine and silently shook his head now and then. “Anita okay, Dud?” “Oh … sure, Doc.” “You okay?” He nodded, then looked up with a wistful, philosophical [...]
To look at Herb Collins, you wouldn’t think he was like that. A nicer, kinder guy you never met. But for one evening each year … one little slice of time … he’s downright diabolical. Every small town has one, of course. There is always that one person who takes Halloween to its extremes of [...]
This is the polished time, the pinnacle of life. This is fall, when everything puts on its best for the world to see, and that makes it special. The sultry heat of summer has passed, and in its place we have cool mornings when the tiny snap of winter’s promise briefly touches our skin. There [...]
Steve finished the ride up the mountain on Ol’ Snort and just sat there in the saddle, looking at his cabin for several minutes. Each board had been personally nailed in place, and the epicenter of his delight, of course, was the turret. After stabling Snort and feeding him, Steve went in, built a fire [...]
It was like buzzards circling the body. The Jones kid, Randy, was out in the Mule Barn parking lot with the hood up on his car. He was staring down into it as a first-time parachutist would look out the airplane door. You never quite knew for sure what lay ahead. “Looks like Randy’s got [...]
hat said “Fly Tying Love Center.” Marvin lifted the magnifying lenses above his head and got up from his fly tying bench and walked to the front room. He looked out the window at the woman staring at his sign. “Do you know her, Marge?” “Mrs. Richardson. Ardis’s mom. She might have a first name [...]
It was that magic time of morning for those of us at the Mule Barn; the time when we’re so full of coffee we can’t walk, and it’s time to decide whether to order lunch there or go home. That’s when Bert walked in. Kinda limped in, actually. He made his way over and sat [...]
