by Fred Nicholson | Aug 17, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Just start writing and follow where it leads.Don’t be afraid(fully or even kind of), to fall beneath the surface. Actually, just feelLove is the menu,inclusive of all life. Fear pops in and out like batteries, loose. Power on. Power off.The In-between...
by Fred Nicholson | Aug 7, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Fred Nicholson, Stories
a Longtime friend A longtime friend sends you a Happy Birthday FB post. You laugh out loud because today is May 30th, exactly 30 days before your burfdae. You respond with a FB message, to avoid embarrassing S. ‘Hi S. You are 30 days early. My burfdae is on June...
by Fred Nicholson | Jul 27, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Fearin the present or of the futuremay be literal and not so. Literal,You are caged in chainsin an alien world,new language and customs. Forced to be with a matethat speaks another dialectjust to produce babies, to increase the supplyof colored people, called...
by Fred Nicholson | Jul 24, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Because Because life is like that.In one door, out the other.We live in between doors. Because I walked outside& Kaia was on the decklooking up at me. Because I was thinking, ‘You’re pretty’ and just thinking won’t get very farin the...
by Fred Nicholson | Jul 11, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
the Progression The old guy walks different dogsaround the baseball fieldat Buck Lake Park,one dog at a time.Me and Kaia run for miles on the trailsand return to the car exhausted. The old man walks different dogsaround the baseball fieldat Buck Lake Park,one dog at a...
by Fred Nicholson | Jul 5, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Babies are not born winners or losers.They land here devoid of judgment. Let’s recall from back then to now. When did bawling babies become”Make sure they’re dead”winners and loser? “The victims are fleeing violence”Look around...
by Fred Nicholson | Jul 5, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Some times I wanna’ be goneabsolutely MIAno longer here When it feels rightjust leave the planetfor un-mind/body ventures This may be where fearpops upin the minds of others “Leave the planet?””Are you talking about . . .?””Ohhh...
by Fred Nicholson | Jun 20, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
I saw a sign,’Support Immigrants’Made me wrinkle my brow. Support immigrants?Even the buffalo immigrated here,from some where. Think about it.We’re all immigrants.Support which immigrants? f ADDENDUMA friend said buffalo were always here or may have...
by Fred Nicholson | Mar 18, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Love is the Answer, Stories
all is Still. [OK. Take a slow breath or two or more ] Still is never enough, is it?[Here comes the preachy talk.] Still is defined by the ‘and’ or ‘what’ words.More short stories in the making. Can you imagine your MindStill in still with...
by Fred Nicholson | Feb 13, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Before you read this or not, please be forewarned. What follows may not be a poem, but once it took off, I could not stop it. Not sure if throwing in line breaks turns words into a poem. There I go ‘wording off’ again. *****the Agreement We had...
by Fred Nicholson | Feb 12, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
falling forthe CARROT and the stick WORLD Carrots are used for many purposes. Some folks may cover their mouths, aghast.Others think about a glass of fresh squeezed juice.Me? I’m talking about the donkey carrot, the greyhound rabbit, and the human...
by Fred Nicholson | Feb 9, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
TRUST is not a continuum,though like all else,it appears to be. “OK, I just stepped out of character.” I have no idea where this is heading.Let’s follow and see if we break a leglike they say in showbiz OR wind uptapping [Delete], saying good night...
by Fred Nicholson | Jan 18, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
‘no name, 4’ The first 3 sentences plus 3 words in ‘no name, 1’ follow.I lay down to rest last night and the word ‘forgiveness’ sprang up. I thought we were going to be talking about my relationship with dad. My lined yellow pad was...
by Fred Nicholson | Jan 16, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
no name, 3 OK, ‘no name, 3’* was at the top of tonight’s agenda. I cooked dinnerdid dishesSpent time with Kaiaand the mirrorStacked booksFlapped Jacks None of that matters.The intention was to sit and write. Give the distractions any name you...
by Fred Nicholson | Jan 10, 2019 | All Mixed Up, Stories
the ‘Master Manipulator’Our President is a ‘Master Manipulator’. He has made the current negotiation about getting or not getting a physical barrier between the U.S. and Mexico. He says, “You Democrats don’t want to protect our...
by Fred Nicholson | Oct 30, 2018 | All Mixed Up, Stories
a Pig’s tale We just had the yummiest smoked ham hocks ever eaten by 2 beings, one human, one canine. Two days ago I was shopping in Central Market and saw these petite, ankle-sized hocks (4 of them) packaged together. Normal sized hocks look like...
by Fred Nicholson | Oct 5, 2018 | All Mixed Up, Stories
‘You will die today’, greets me in the morning, some times. I used to quake, be rattled, and scrunch up under the bed covers. Now I get up, accept today is the day, shower, flush, brush, dress, collar Kaia and pull the door closed behind us. I help her up...
by Fred Nicholson | Sep 27, 2018 | All Mixed Up, Stories
a Blank Page She was ninety-five and bedridden for 30 plus years. There were caregivers and her window faced the Catholic Church spires. Laying there, looking out praying, she died. Deb and I were offered the apartment, if we moved everything out and did all the...
by Fred Nicholson | Aug 26, 2018 | All Mixed Up, Stories
a Tall Tale or a Short Story? Dinosaurs walked these streets before us. We named them streets. Earth is earth, no matter what you call it. Give that a thought or longer So here we are, walking dinosaur streets. What follows? A Tall Tale, this wasn’t. A Short...
by Fred Nicholson | Jul 23, 2018 | All Mixed Up, Stories
These are dangerous times when a U.S. President is willing to create a ‘Crusader War’ with Iran, to mask his own evil rise to power. Amazingly enough, he made the same threats to North Korea, before he and Kim Jong-un became bosom buddies. The most...
by Fred Nicholson | Jan 9, 2015 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Your Worst Nightmare I am your night mare bitch in heat volcanic ash budding embers laying-low until next time. Dishes pots and pans full food cans flung across the room puts ‘I love you’ to the test. Do you pass or fail to see the light of day each...
by Fred Nicholson | Apr 21, 2014 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Taxiii . . . When I returned from Vietnam I held many different jobs for short periods of time. For more years than I can remember I drove a New York City taxicab at nights and had a multitude of memorable experiences doing so. I once picked up three young people, a...
by Fred Nicholson | Apr 21, 2014 | All Mixed Up, Stories
Hey woman, run next door and tell Charlie we’d like some hotdogs. What did you say? What, I gotta repeat myself? This is the fourth of July. We supposed to have hot dogs. You must have lost your mind. The shock of them repossessing our clothes, furniture and...
by Fred Nicholson | Apr 21, 2014 | All Mixed Up, Stories
bang bang banging on the door. “Open up! It’s the police!” I look down at the busted jug and at the dent in the wall, where the statue virgin mary whizzed past my head. Sure, I could have left run away years ago but each time we took another gamble. The gambling is...
