humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
Rich
Richard Shore couldn’t shed a tear for anyone unless it was for himself. He was the most self-involved person I knew and I worked in show business so I knew a few dicks. I was standing next to my neighbour, sobbing whilst scowling at him, he was stood by himself in the corner of the room at the back as he had slinked into the room after the ceremony started, I don’t even know how he got in and why he wanted to be here. Miriam Gold was the loveliest women in our block of flats, so caring and kind she used to always bake cookies and hand them out whenever she saw one us passing. She was always there as your shoulder to cry on or to supply the tequila and ice cream, whichever was needed. Everyone loved Miriam and she loved us but it seemed she also loved others and that included Richard.
By Matthew Grantham5 years ago in Humans
The book of Life
Everybody has a bad day, that’s a given. The problem is when bad days turn into bad weeks, into bad months and even into a bad year. This has been a bad year for most, but for me, it has been catastrophic. First, I was fired from my job at a restaurant when it closed due to the pandemic, I then lost my car due to inability to make payments. One day I woke up and, poof! It was gone. I didn't even bother calling the bank, those soulless bastards. The company that manages the apartment complex where I live blows up my phone, and leaves notes every week about the rent that’s due-- over three thousand dollars and counting. I have no clue what to do.
By Sammi Garcia5 years ago in Humans
Dandelion’s Folley
“And the winner, by a nose ladies and gentlemen - Man’s Moxy!” The stadium thundered with the roar of the crowd. Cheers of joy mixed with groans of disappointment filtered the humid summer air, lifting the audience to their feet. Applause, shouts, curses - all rang around the stadium, as each jockey dismounted from their saddle and led their horse to the stables.
By Tanique Philogene5 years ago in Humans
Taxi Runner
“Miss June’s a special lady. She lives in the house up the road, comes here sometimes.” Moley explained to the cashier. He watched the little woman carefully totter out the door of his convenience store. Miss June sat on a bench outside the store, next to the long expanse of straight road. She munched on the pre-packaged donut she’d just gotten, not caring that the white powder would stick to her freshly pressed pink suit jacket. Suddenly she stood up and with a frail finger, she pointed into the evening street and shrieked, “Taxi!”
By Sophie Robertson5 years ago in Humans
The moment
She took the last of her coffee in one big gulp and sighed. It felt like she had been sitting there for hours, achieving nothing. Her brain would just not cooperate and she had an assignment due next week. It might seem like a long time, but she hadn’t even started yet. Her parents had spent all their savings for her to go to college, so she couldn’t afford to mess this up. On one hand she felt a strong obligation towards her parents. On the other hand, she felt like the course had been a big mistake. Maybe a little break would help with her motivation. She picked up her phone and mindlessly started scrolling through all of her social media apps. If her assignment had been to spend x number of hours on the phone, she would have aced it. Another sigh.
By Astrid Skillingstad5 years ago in Humans
Never Judge a Notebook By The Cover
“EVICTION NOTICE! You, Maria Milano, are hereby notified to vacate the premises…” The ominous yellow letter glared at Maria as she ascended the creaking stairs to her poverty ridden apartment. She and her son, Cameron, like so many others, had fallen victim to the plague that is the Covid19 and all that had come with it. Before now, Maria and her husband, Jacob had worked in her parent’s restaurant in Chicago. When the shutdowns happened, the somber realization hit early that the restaurant wouldn’t survive. After 54 years, they had to close. Maria and Jacob filed for unemployment, but that was a nightmare itself. After weeks with no checks in the mail, the mortgage began to pile up, the house fell into foreclosure, and they were forced to move.
By Keshia Terry5 years ago in Humans
How's Your Conscience?
Rock music blared as the alarm clock sounds at 7:00 a.m. Could the weekend really have gone by that quickly? I reluctantly rolled out of bed still slightly hung over from his best friend's birthday bash the night before. When I was in my early teens I used to dream of one day having a career where I would be considered "somebody special", somebody that could really help people. In my mind, that meant I would be either a doctor or a fireman. Unfortunately, I had to reassess these dreams when I struggled to even get sold "D"'s on my report cards. I could never understand why my parents felt they had to share that information with anybody that would inquire "what does your son do?" I showed everybody my potential though - today I live the glamorous life of a cart attendant at my local grocery store.
By Theresa Thibodeau5 years ago in Humans
Transcendence
I know people who would sell their soul for my job. Our industry has perfected Pavlovian style performance conditioning. Designer office fit outs, excessive salaries and in-house chefs providing Michelin star meals at any time of the day or night. More and more rewards, privilege beyond belief.
By Amanda Walker5 years ago in Humans
Weights & Wind
It was a bluebird day, the kind where the Mountains look to be standing even taller, summits reflecting and shining in the alpine morning Sun, almost as if the whole range had gotten together for one of those posed group photos the Instagrammers love. Everybody living their best life for the 13 seconds it takes to snap the shot. We were in the midst of an unusually active avalanche season and the air held a nervous energy. Standing outside the shack in town with a cup of steaming Sumatran, I could almost make out the snow fields that’d give next, the peaceful white blankets of snow pregnant with a slippery, suffocating danger lurking under the uneven, seemingly stable shelves of pristine powder scattering the San Juan range. County Search and Rescue said they wouldn’t be blasting till the following morning.
By Jesse Stanek5 years ago in Humans
