Posts by Gary Kadlec
Live Love Pray Die
LIVE LOVE PRAY DIE Cancer is killing the love of my life. My precious girl – my wife for ten years, sweetheart for twice that, best friend for eternity. Terminal cancer is stealing her life away. And it’s poisoning me, with hopelessness, helplessness, confusion. This shouldn’t be happening. I am filled with unfathomable rage while…
Read MoreUnlimited Miles
Trucker’s Amnesia gradually tightens its clutch on its victims, so I can’t pinpoint exactly when my mind went missing. But it’s gone, and in its void is miry gelatinous fog. I can’t recall where I am, or where I’m headed. I have no clue of who I even am, for that matter. The only…
Read MoreArby’s
Just a short drive from the historical O.C. Stonestreet Column in Statesville, NC, the Arby’s at 255 1826 East Broad Street was exactly where I headed when I looked up at the grand clock and saw it read “Dinnertime.” I had a real “hankerin’” as they say in those parts, for a Buttermilk Buffalo Chicken sandwich…
Read MoreSherwin Williams
Sherwin Williams, you had me at “One Coat Guaranteed.” Because I am not a DIY guy at all. Had to Google it just to know it means Do It Yourself. And nobody seems to want to help me with home projects. As if they already know that hanging a picture involves me pointing the studfinder…
Read MoreHomeGoods
Last evening, while shopping at HomeGoods, I happened past your vast array of Oriental, excuse me, Asian rugs. The helpful young employee was using the automated conveyer system to “flip through” the offerings for a potential Asian carpet purchaser. All were shocked when a gentleman dropped out from between two of the rugs with a…
Read MoreDown in Flames
IT was going to be okay. Over the screams and cursing and prayers, I heard a calm voice say it. My own. It was going to be okay, because I knew in those final moments that I’d accomplished the impossible. A nearly three-hour flight had been a nearly complete failure. Id been desperately…
Read MoreDaddy
DADDY One day I shall stop grieving. But it will not be this day. Today I have an important errand. It’s the reason that I’m sitting outside the gate of the small city park at dawn, watching the sunrise without even seeing it. I’ve got Zoe’s hair clip in my hand, with the lock…
Read MoreBert
We are all just waiting for our number to be called. I’m not philosophizing, I’m at the Department of Motor Vehicles. By necessity. I doubt that anyone in this frowning, muttering multitude is here by choice. Not even the government employees. Especially not them. The clock was the only thing moving. I was near…
Read MoreAisles
AISLES My timing couldn’t be worse. I must be a bit delusional, thinking I can just stop and buy a few groceries this crisp autumn morning. It’s Sunday morning, is the problem. It’s a poorly-kept secret that this is the only time guys shop. But I’m a guy, so here I am. And from the…
Read MoreMirror, Mirror, Blah, Blah, Blah…
MIRROR, MIRROR, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH Writing about oneself in front of a mirror is a tired cliché. I’m a writer, allegedly; I know these things. So, the last thing I should be doing right now is standing here, in the bathroom, reflecting. And making lousy puns. But enough about me. Just kidding. This is all…
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