The Ten-Minute Storyteller

This week we meet Will. Will finds a dead body in the small park where he walks his dog every morning.  The dead body has a story.  A tragic, gruesome story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Pat. Pat got fed up with America. For any number of reasons. The politics. The stress. His marriage.  So Pat split. Headed to Portugal. A nice little beach town on the coast. Where life could not be sweeter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Bob. All Bob has ever wanted to be is retired.   Retirement: the act of leaving one’s job and ceasing work. Forever.  Yup, that’s been Bob’s ambition all along. And now he’s finally made it.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Jerry. Jerry’s been arrested. Jerry’s in jail. For something he insists he didn’t do.  But humans are not designed to readily admit their bad choices and screw-ups. It’s a bit of a design flaw.  Jerry’s brain conjured up some thoughts that likely had very little to do with reality and now, well, now a pretty happy go lucky guy is dead. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Jane. Jane’s been kind of overlooked her whole life. A combination of mediocre looks and a rather flat personality has left Jane long buried in the middle of the wood pile.  But she has plans, big plans, flamboyant plans, fiery plans to change all that. Jane is ready to once and for all hit the big time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Stan. Stan’s an old-timer, living out the tail end. But he still remembers the glory days. When he was full of the usual piss and vinegar. Stan longs for one more rodeo. His wife long deceased, Stan would like one final conquest before the call comes in from his Maker.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Annette. Annette has had a lifelong love affair with America, though she has only ever viewed America from afar. From afar things can seem so tidy and perfect. Like a star through a telescope. All the beauty but none of the heat or chaos.  Well now Annette has finally landed in the country of her dreams and fantasies. Will her love affair deepen? Or will disillusion set in? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Storm. Storm is a serious deep sea fisherman. A passionate deep sea fisherman. Even if it’s only his hobby. Even if he only gets to do his thing a few days each year.   Storm has the boat, the tackle, and the knowledge to catch the big fish out in the deep water. Too bad he doesn’t have much time.   And no matter what the Stones might have told us back in 1964, time, that most precious of all commodities, is definitely not on our side. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Zeb. Zeb has it all: plenty of dough, lots of high end real estate and snazzy cars, a gorgeous wife, good lookin kids.   But Zeb has a problem. A very serious problem. A problem that’s been festering for a while now but is about to come to a head. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Thomas. As in the Biblical Doubting Thomas, who had some concerns about The Resurrection.  Like a lot of us, Thomas raced into adulthood and left his youth behind. Including his religious upbringing. He sought new frontiers and new philosophies everywhere he turned.   But now he’s older, in his late forties, the father of three young children. And suddenly wondering about those things he left behind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Claude. Claude is your average, run-of-the-mill, middle-aged guy with a middle management job.   Like millions of his brethren, Claude has a spouse and kids. He owns a house. And a couple cars. And a dog.  Also like many of his brethren, Claude gets irritated. Easily. And often.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Joey. Joey’s in a bit of a pickle, got himself stuck in the jar with the lid screwed on tight, and he’s not at all sure how to extricate himself.  It was all fun and good times for a while, well, for a very short while, but now, not so much. Just a lotta stress and three snot-nosed kids.  Take a listen to learn how the human race guarantees its survival through procreation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Dan. Dan has reached the top of the heap. He stands atop the Citadel.  Dan is a very powerful guy. The most powerful guy around.  Dan has untold legions who hang on his every word. Who love to death is fiery rhetoric in support of White Supremacy and Male Dominion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Shelia. She’s had it up to her eyeballs with her two-timing husband. A liar and a serial cheater. But she can’t think about that right now. The house has been invaded by yellow jackets. Can’t think about anything else till she rids the house of yellow jackets. Shelia grabs her phone, races outside, and calls the exterminator.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Joe. Joe’s not really enjoying life.  Joe’s stuck. In a sort of emotional quicksand. He can’t pull himself out. Doesn’t know what to do or where to turn.  Joe blames his confinement on his wife, his kids, his job, his friends, but just under the surface Joe knows who’s really to blame. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Guy. Guy needs underwear. Heads for the mall. Where some white kids get tangled up with some black kids. The N-word careens around the food court. One kid pushes another kid. Fists fly. Blood spills.  The cops arrive. Put the white kid in a chair, the black kid on the floor. Tempers flare. Guns drawn.  What’s Guy going to do? What’s Guy going to say? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Sara. And her father, Judge Sammy Deleto. Sara has been raped. Or so she says. The Judge is aghast. Appalled. Angry.  And even more so when he finds out the rapist was... my God... Black.  His Anger turns to Alarm when she tells him she’s... pregnant!  “Good Lord!” shouts the Great Defender of the Womb. “This... this cannot stand!” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Sock. Every evening Sock and various companions meet at the park to go for a walk and discourse on a variety of lofty topics.   On this particular evening, cold and blustery, it appears it will only be Sock and his faithful hound Sally. But just as they set off, a young lady appears and together the trio ambles up Lyceum Hill.   Soon talk turns to Camus' Four Conditions for Happiness. A lively discussion ensues.  But then, suddenly, this newest member of The Walking Philosopher's Club bids farewell and vanishes into thin air. Was she ever really there? Or had Sock merely conjured her up?   Does it matter? Does such a phenomenon as reality even exist? Join the walk and see what you think.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Jake. Cold and windy at the summit, but Jake's determined to make one last run. His buds say no way, done for the day, but Jake moves to the beat of his own drummer. He leaves the warmth and camaraderie of the lodge, steps into his Atomics, and heads for the lift.  Trouble is, there's a perfect storm brewing. Wind, cold, snow, party at the tech billionaire's ski lodge, obstinance, and lift operators who are stoned, injured, and dreaming of sex.  Man may think he has some measure of control over his life, but man is, by and large, a fool. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we meet Dick. Dick’s at wit’s end. Bill Monroe owes Patrolman Dick Benson ten grand. Has owed the police officer ten grand for nearly two years. Dick wants his dough.   And more than wants it, Dick needs it. For his family. His wife and daughter. On several occasions he has begged and pleaded with Monroe to fork over the cash. All to no avail.  Well now Dick has a plan. A crazy-ass scheme to get his dough. And tonight's the night.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.