Category: A Trilogy.
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WEASELS, BEAVERS, AND HOGS, Part I
Earl, from over at Earl’s Salvage Yard and Formalwear, couldn’t even remember where in the world the Studebaker M29C Weasel at the back of the yard came from. “It was one of 10,647 units produced by Studebaker in the mid-1940s for military use,” he told Hank at one point. “It is said to have been in…
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THE LIST, PART III
No one was prepared for the turnout for Vic Volente’s funeral. We’ll, no one perhaps other than Franklin Danbury Jr., being privy to more information on Vic than anyone else in Fort Stockton. Danbury had a sneaking suspicion that the crowd might be larger than Pastor Peterson at Almost United Methodist might be prepared for. Behind…
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THE LIST, Part II
Vic Volente knew Mayor Goodman as well as anyone. The mayor was indeed quick to attempt to make money on the city’s involvement in Vic’s last wishes being made a reality. When Franklin Danbury met him in his office at City Hall and provided the details of Vic’s will regarding the matter, the mayor was furious. He was…
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THE LIST, Part I
It wasn’t uncommon for ol’ Vic Volente to not be seen around town for long stretches of time. He kept to himself a good bit. “It wasn’t that he was unsociable. . . .” Sister Thelma started to say when they were talking about him around the big round table at the Grounds for Divorce. “It…
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REDEMPTION, Part III
Colton Caldwell was riding a wave of success that was more addictive than any drug. The high he got from closing more deals was almost as good as the one he got from being seen in the new bustle back Cadillac Seville around Fort Stockton. Colton had moved down to the cubicle next to the middle aged…
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REDEMPTION, Part II
In the early 80s most people would have been embarrassed to be in telemarketing. Colton Caldwell was, despite Shannon’s positive affirmations regarding his career choice. Such was the time period, what with Reagan at the helm, that Fort Stockton seemed like a shining city on a hill. Or at least by a lake. Material abundance was almost considered an…
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REDEMPTION, Part I
Colton Caldwell had only ever met three successful salespeople. The first one was in the Pecos county lockup, where he’d spent Thanksgiving of 1981, for reasons that aren’t relevant to this particular part of the story. The jail was so overcrowded that inmates had to sleep head to foot on thin foam pads that the county…
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BAD CHOICES MAKE GOOD STORIES, Part III
Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds”. I know FDR led us through the Great Depression, and he’s featured on one side of the dime and all. But he may be wrong on this one. Men may, indeed, be prisoners of fate. Especially if they’re, well, actually prisoners. Joaquin…
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BAD CHOICES MAKE GOOD STORIES, Part II
Misti LuAnn Duvall was the product of a broken home and found herself bouncing back and forth between Fort Stockton, where her mother lived and Dumas, where her father was from. It was never clear whether Misti’s parents were ever actually married, although Lucinda said something about them fulfilling the requirements of Common Law Marriage. “If…
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BAD CHOICES MAKE GOOD STORIES, Part I
“Joaquin Despeada never had a chance,” some folks would argue when his name came up in the conversation. Some, particularly those who believed heavily in the concept of fatalism, said that Joaquin’s future was already sealed the moment he exited his mother’s womb at Fort Stockton Memorial Hospital and Animal Testing Facility. When the idea…