My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie This is a very angry avocado. You can tell it is angry because its skin is creased into a big green frown. If you were to cut it open and make guacamole out of it, it would probably yell at you. This avocado has not had a very good day. You might as well give it some space. Next to it is an anxious artichoke. It is anxious because it knows that soon, one hot and dry evening, it will be put in a pot of water and steamed. At first, it will feel like a blissful sauna, but afterwards, it will become akin to the sermons told about the bubbling cauldrons of Hell itself. Then it shall be stripped of each limb, eaten bit by bit, as if drawn and quartered. And served with mayonnaise. This artichoke has attempted to downplay its anxiety by curbing its long-term thinking. It has had little success. Beyond the counter, there are eager eggs that are actually excited to be consumed. They love the idea of both inner and outer transformation. They see things from a very spiritu...

The great and honorable General Talmouth will be hosting a great and honorable banquet at his great and honorable (and highly established) manor on the corner of Fifth and Main. There, he will deliver a great and honorable speech that will go into the great and honorable details of his next assignment as great and honorable general. After that, there shall be beer and shrimp cocktails. Those are not great and honorable. They are just delicious.

Woooow. So. A lot happened this week. Some good things, some bad things. Lots of happy times, but also lots of stressful times. Let's see how easily I can break this down at eleven in the evening. First things first: Arden's best friend Alyssa's wedding was amazing. Not only did it give me ideas for my own wedding, but it also was just a beautiful ceremony and such a fun party. Alyssa and Sean are a beautiful couple, and hearing their vows and seeing their happiness on full display actually brought a couple of tears to my eyes. That, and you can't go wrong with shrimp cocktails. Monday kicked off with more student observation my school site for my credential program. Let me just say that I like the set-up. I like the course material, I like being with two mentor teachers, and I like the students. Everyone seems chill and good-natured and all around pleasant. I think there's good morale at this high school in particular, and I couldn't be happier with that si...

Bad Reception in Heaven by Belinda Roddie But what if God did have a good mobile plan?

We kept our love a secret, tucked under sheets, sealed in cardboard boxes, locked in black plastic safes with cheap keys that were easy to break and easier to lose. When we walked past each other in the hallways, we did not touch - no brushing of fingers, no rubbing of elbows, no knocking of knees. Yet the current between us was so strong that sometimes I would jolt, as if shocked by something collecting static, and I was so scared that somebody would notice the way my muscles tensed and my breath fled my body every time I saw you.

Hard, Yellow Lumps by Belinda Roddie Hard, yellow lumps and bloodied spittle flew from my distorted mouth as I doubled over and coughed right on the ground. I knew how sick I was. I needed medical attention, yet here I was, standing right outside the store, waiting for my father to come out with his six pack of cheap light beer and nicotine gum. My sight blurred, and before I could take another step, I felt my body hit the pavement. That was where I woke up, an ache in my lip and pain like I'd been knocked out with a bat. My dad was nowhere to be found, so I stayed still until I heard the sirens' cry.

They told me I was bound to fail if I held onto some many dreams and goals. True, I may not have accomplished everything I wanted to do. I never climbed mountains, struck gold in the streams, created a five star restaurant, or wound up making millions of dollars on a good investment. But I did end up writing, and reading, and performing, teaching, and marrying the woman I loved before starting a family I adored. So, yeah, a half dozen goals out of ten ain't nothing to sneeze at.