I sometimes wonder if my skepticism didn’t begin with religion at all, but with something much smaller- something almost harmless. I must have been five when I first realized that adults tell lies. Not malicious ones, not the kind meant to harm, but small, playful distortions of reality. My grandmother- “Nana,” in proper Southern fashion- was particularly fond of them. Once, while watching lizards outside, I noticed the strange way their throats stretched out in quick movements. Curious, I asked what that flap of skin was for. Without hesitation, she told me, “That’s their wallet. It’s where they keep their coins.” I tried to picture it- tiny lizard coins, perhaps stamped with the faces of important lizards. But before my imagination could run too far, I saw the smile creeping across her face. I laughed. It was a lie, but it was a funny one. Still, I filed something away without realizing it: adults were willing to bend reality, even when asked sincere questions. Not long after, I bega...

  "The Haunted Wave"

  "Mr. Chuckles, Public Relations Manager"

 I had such a strange dream last night. I was in the room where in real life I grew up during the 80's, wondering what I would have actually been doing in 1991, as if I knew I was visiting from the future. I thought probably watching that small black and white TV I'm seeing that was sort of lopsided, hanging off of a dresser. As I was trying to remember what would be on the VHF/UHF airwaves in 1991, the phone rings and it's my Aunt Anne, who in real life lives in California. She said she loved the granola recipes I apparently shared somewhere (in 1991 maybe it was on a BBS?) , but she urgently wanted to put my mother on the phone because she had something to tell me. (In real life she died on Easter of 2024 after a long battle with thyroid cancer.) I said "of course!", and my mom greets me. I asked how she was doing, and she said, "Well, at least the solar system hasn't blown up yet." I'm thinking "YET?!", and I'm suddenly pulled a...

"The Watcher and the Sea"