My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie "Mackerel is no name for a little girl." "Why is it that you never like my name choices?" "Because they're silly." "You said the same thing about naming the cat Jumping Bean." "Yeah. It was silly. I like Zelda better." "Okay, fine. Mackerel's out. How about Salmon?" "Dude. No." "Carp?" " No!" "Rainbow Trout." "You just keep naming random fish! C'mon!" "Well, at least I added the Rainbow part of Rainbow Trout! That leaves me some gay cred!" "Sure. And zero 'capable of properly naming your hypothetical daughter' cred." "Hey, man, I take what I can get." "What little there is, at least." "Don't be mean." "It's late, I worked a long day, and I'm cranky. And we're almost out of booze." "Told you to get more." "We

Looking at a copy of "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh on a starry night seems appropriate, don't you think? Though if I could, I'd make it more legit by going to see the real thing in New York. I don't think they keep the museum open that late, though, after the stars come out. So all I think about is the texture. And the temperature. And the tempest hidden beneath the oily sky.