Kendall Defoe
Bio
Teacher, reader, writer, dreamer... I am a college instructor who cannot stop letting his thoughts end up on the page. No AI. No Fake Work. It's all me...
And I did this:
Stories (824)
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Wellness Check
Michael decided it was the right time to visit. “Mr. Richards?” He knocked on the screen door and waited. This was not a bad sign. Michael had known Mr. Richards since he was a young boy and they first moved next door to the very old home that reminded him of something from a monster movie. As they were unpacking, he noticed the man sitting on his front porch, happily rocking away in his chair with a drink in his hand and sunglasses on to block out the light of that very bright afternoon. He had waved at the family and they all smiled and waved back. Michael wondered about his life from that moment on and would find out what he could.
By Kendall Defoe 7 months ago in Fiction
The Prom
Note: here is a story that I have avoided discussing even here, but this particular Challenge seems to demand that I dig deep and look at a very unpleasant memory. Some of you may think less of me, or the other person involved, but that is just the way things work out.
By Kendall Defoe 7 months ago in Writers
The Anti-Black Blackness
Once again, I find myself with a topic that I cannot shake…and wish to avoid. Here it is, the end of June and we have the US involved in another war, ICE agents raiding and grabbing people off the streets, and my own concerns over money continue (where are all those contracts?). I thought that I could just observe and comment like a true Vocalist, and then move on with the rest of my summer.
By Kendall Defoe 7 months ago in The Swamp
Most Honorable
It has been an interesting week. With the most recent set of Challenges provided by Vocal, I have been very diligent in setting myself up with my thoughts as I tap away in front of this screen. I could write poetry and stories, discuss those figures and stories from history or my own life and get some interesting feedback on them. I have looked over the list of upcoming work I can do, and I am both excited and terrified by what I have planned.
By Kendall Defoe 7 months ago in Writers
This Is The Day
“You know what? I quit.” No, of course, no one could hear me. I was alone in my office – shared, but pretty much my own – and it was only 9:46 in the morning, so we would have a meeting in less than fifteen minutes and I did not really want to see Mr. Roleiman’s face again on a Monday morning before I had my first cup of coffee and he told the staff all about how so-and-so did such a great job with sales (clap clap clap) and then the other person got a dozen clients to sign on for things that they could not afford (clap clap clap clap) and then he would look at the rest of us and not say a word about all the things we did because we were such a big disappointment to the company and he wanted us to know it without telling it (show without telling; he should have been a writer). So, I was done and I just had to wait for Allan to come back from the office bathroom on the third floor – the best one – and he would have to handle the new account on his own because I was fed up and it was a Monday after one of the best weekends I’d ever had after I found that secondhand shop with that rare science-fiction section that had titles I had never seen before and I made friends with the owner and he told me that there was a sale coming up in two weeks, but he would make me a deal right now if I took three copies off his hands. A little pricey, but they were worth it and I wondered what I was doing with myself in this place when no one really cares about what I give the office only what they can take and take and take and I studied literature just as a lark and wanted to work in publishing not business anyway. Why did I stop there, anyway? I was out going to the local farmer’s market to get those oranges that you could taste test from the small trays they had out for customers and things were in season like the mango that I was not too sure about after seeing flies land on it and people still sampling them without a care in their minds.
By Kendall Defoe 7 months ago in Fiction
Instructions for the Court
Note - here is a link to the Challenge: Notes for proper behaviour in the courtroom: 1. No smiles. Why did he have to give me such a ridiculous list? And why start with the obvious? I know that the 'court of public opinion' - such a ludicrous phrase - has already decided that I am guilty. I could not keep up the charade of tears and weeping all day long now, could I? When I saw him bloviating and gesturing, it just came out. At least I look good (such a fine artist).
By Kendall Defoe 7 months ago in Fiction
