Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Confessions.
Zippo
My dad was a pipe smoker. Do not know if people smoke pipes anymore. Googled it and there seem many options. I must not travel in the right circles if I even have a circle. Not a very healthy habit and dad would invariably fall asleep, pipe lit, and a smoldering bit of tobacco would fall on his shirt, much to my mother’s chagrin. Many shirts found their way to the rag pile as a result. My dad used Zippo lighters to keep his pipe lit. Most of my father’s life was spent in Rochester, NY on what I fondly refer to as the wrong side of Lake Ontario. This is a view shared by many of my fellow Upstate brethren living in Watertown, or Syracuse. In the winter, and most of the rest of the time, the wind howls from the northwest, from Canada, across the lake, bringing the most unpleasant and uncertain weather. One element is certain. It is always windy. Specific to the Zippo, its claim to fame is its windscreen that helps it stay lit. The Zippo is an engineering marvel, American ingenuity at its best. My dad had at least four that I can remember.
By Alexander J. Cameron5 years ago in Confessions
Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I'm a functional drug addict and workaholic
I've always been a person with a plan, a goal, something to strive for. I like knowing where I'm going and why. I like being in control. My favorite days are the ones where I can account for every moment of the day and articulate how it helps me accomplish my plan or goal.
By Elizabeth Grant5 years ago in Confessions
Winters Like Summer- Final
Continued from previous episode..... “Please, Come in.” Said the principal. “Good Morning Madam Principal. You requested me here.” I said while entering the room, that’s when I saw two police men standing beside her. I froze. “Don’t Panic, take a seat please” she said. I took a nervous look at the two standing police men, and sat down at the chair placed in front of her. “Thomas, I hope you did know Tanya Gonzalez. Did you? If who was she?” asked one of the policemen “I did, she’s my best friend.”, “Then I believe this is for you. You are to read it loudly. I hope you understand.” He said handing me a green envelope. I saw “To: Thomas Richard Clossel” in the most beautiful handwriting ever, it didn’t take time for me to understand it was Tanya’s. I tore open the letter swiftly and was reading the first few words alone when the Other police man interrupted “Child, please you are ordered to read it loudly” “Umm, ok sir”. And started reading as if I was in Primary Grades,
By Cordellia Novis5 years ago in Confessions
A little bit about bugs.
I can only swallow so many fruit flies at one sitting. If you leave your soda pop open in summer your just setting your self up. So many drinks I've chucked from them being inundated with bugs that decided to have a sip and ended up drowning.
By Susan Kulkowitz5 years ago in Confessions
The Fear of Losing Someone After You Lost Someone
I have a confession, my biggest fear is the loss of a loved one since I have already experienced losing a loved one. I went a long time not knowing how that felt, if we had a loss in the family, I never endured the pain of it because I was either too young or I didn't know anyone close to me that had passed away. This article ties into the one I wrote about losing my grandma and uncle, "The Inevitable Countdown". I experienced the utter pain of true heartache and despair when I lost my grandma, not that I didn't love my uncle, but I was closer to my grandma than I was my uncle. But after those unexpected losses, I have feared the thought of not knowing who would be next or when. I have much regret that I didn't spend enough time, in my opinion, with her in the last few years, I would see her at family functions, but that was it. She passed away in the middle of the COVID pandemic and was unable to visit her in the hospital; the last time I had seen her, was when she was rushed to a clinic in Southgate CA because she was experiencing stomach pain. The doctors didn't seem knowledgeable or maybe I was in denial, but they had later detected that she had stomach cancer and didn't have much time. Now thinking about it, I do believe I was in denial of the whole thing, not wanting to imagine losing the person I love the most, but it was also something I couldn't control, and that is scary. I do miss her a lot, think about her all the time, and wish I could've done something to help her.
By Carla SofiiLove Garcia 5 years ago in Confessions
Love is Complicated
This is a speech that I wrote for a digital cabaret performance before I realized that the amount of time I needed to talk between songs actually shouldn't have been this long. Here is that essay now, containing the titles of the two songs I sang, "Being Alive" and "Run Away With Me."
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Confessions
Knitting in Coffeehouses as the Sun Goes Down
I love to knit in coffeeshops after work. My work is done in my quiet apartment, usually alone. I write hoping I will create a narrative that will resonate with someone. Reading chapters and writing papers for my graduate classes until my quiet apartment becomes oppressive and stifling.
By Elizabeth Grant5 years ago in Confessions
DON'T GO THERE
Don’t Go There, The Elephant Between Them As a boy of six, Jackie was teased, taunted, and traumatized by his older sister; the apple of her daddies’ eye, his “princess”. From the boy’s perspective, Daddies’ little angel was no angel. One day, after egregious levels of terrorizing her little brother, the boy snapped. In desperation, he picked up his sisters’ favorite doll by its leg and threw it at her. The porcelain head of the doll (more specifically its nose) clipped her forehead, drawing blood. The girl screamed bloody murder and ran to Mommy. Just wait ‘til your father gets home young man. That was the first and last time Jack spanked his boy, emphasizing with the phrase, “Real men don’t hit girls, ever!”
By David Zinke aka ZINK5 years ago in Confessions
Would the audience wish to respond?
Yes I would like to address the crew members involved with hiring and creating new roles for seeking individuals. First off I would like to acknowledge the efforts being put forth to expand the normalcy of the work environment. The new pathways of hybrid, remote, traveling, and interstate opportunities is a refreshing new trend if I must admit. Now I do have a few concerns with the success rate for someone like myself who desires to work. Personally the last few years have been times of learning and coming to terms with true intentions of others and the primitive behaviors people expose through competitive aims for status and position within companies.
By "Show"5 years ago in Confessions
Cutting it Close
Too much potassium could stop a heart. Too little could stop a heart too, but in a less accurate, more painful way. Back when they used to still kill people with lethal injection, potassium chloride was one of the ingredients in the cocktails that were pushed by intravenous drugs to bring about death. With enough potassium, it’s a fast way to die.
By Michelle Devon5 years ago in Confessions
Why I Drive Rideshare
I have been asked many times why I have chosen to drive rideshare and work in the gig economy as my way to support myself especially considering the recent murder of Joshua Miller, an Uber driver, here in Dallas. I have a great resume, good work ethic, and could probably get a nice, safe office job making the same amount of money, so why do I put my life and health on the line to do rideshare?
By Julie O'Hara - Author, Poet and Spiritual Warrior5 years ago in Confessions
