Fuzzy Wuzzy was not, in spite of the rhymes to the contrary, a bear. In fact he was a breed of dog called a “Newfoundland”-though he had no idea what the hell that meant or what land of any kind, new found or not, had to do with being a dog or a bear. As the summer once again crept across the heat-capturing valleys of Southern California he began to feel a little miffed that his fur hadn’t been trimmed in years. Now, we’re not talking dog years, because then we’d be into double digits as far as Fuzzy Wuzzy knew, but by the reckoning of people he was in fact five years old and as near as he could tell, his unfortunate name was the sole reason he had never received so much as a trim.

Fuzzy sat at the end of a long leash looped around the leg of a small chair at a sidewalk cafe. His owner, a singularly annoying woman called Missy, sipped a maple-scented black beverage from a small cup, her pinky finger extended into the air aristocratically. Fuzzy loved his sweet master, for she always snuggled him and fed him and let him sleep at the foot of her bed, where he felt most of the time like he belonged. On occasion she would kick him straight off the bed in her sleep, but Fuzzy always knew that when he awoke sore and disoriented on the floor it was not a fact caused by any meaningful malice by his owner. No, Fuzzy Wuzzy was loved.

So as the sun crept over the buildings across the street and began to warm the front of the sidewalk cafe, Fuzzy began to feel hot. His owner continued to sip the black liquid and in fact asked the waiter to bring her another while she gabbed away to the little pink, glitter-covered rectangle in her hand. Fuzzy had never figured out what was so interesting about this little rectangle that Missy would want to talk to it so much, but talk she did, and Fuzzy just panted away as sweat began to make the fur on his head droop down into his eyes. Read the rest of this entry »

There was a tiny snail (or so he felt inside), who climbed along the garden wall in silence every day. Without fail there came along an angry boy each day, bitter and irate for reasons the snail could only guess. Each day the boy was just the same: he would pluck the tiny snail from the wall and toss him to the ground with a laugh and a sneer. And each morning for a long time, the snail slowly crawled back up the wall once more in hopes that when the new day rose he would reach the sunlight that only reached the highest parts of that wall.

As time wore on the little snail grew more weary as the frustration of never quite reaching the light of day began to weigh upon him. Every day the angry boy would return, his tongue all aflame with bitter words, and the little snail would find himself hurled once again to the ground so far below, where he would land with a painful thud. But one day, something changed in the world and the little snail could no longer bring himself to try.

When the angry boy returned to taunt the little snail, his face contorted in a strange fury when he saw that the snail had not begun to crawl up the wall again. Instead he had stayed just where the boy had thrown him down the day before. The angry boy cursed and spat, and very nearly crushed the little snail with his gigantic shoe, but for some unknown reason he hesitated and put his foot back on the ground. “You’re not even worth it” said the angry boy, and with a terrifying face he spat upon the little snail where he lay.

The little snail did not move, but stared ever up that wall at the sunlight so high above. He longed to feel its warmth upon his shell, but his heart sank and he said to himself, “I can never reach it, for I am not able to overcome the obstacles which beset me”. And for several days he remained exactly where he lay, his heart growing ever more sorrowful as each day slipped away into another night. For a few days the angry boy would come again and curse the little snail, but soon he seemed to lose interest and did not return for a long time.

When he became hungry the little snail would slink across the dirt and soil to eat sadly from the lowest leaves on the plants, even though they were caked in filth and did not taste as good as his favorite leaves just a little higher. Sometimes he would look mournfully up at those leaves, but he did not try to reach them any longer; “I can never reach them” he said, “for I am not able to reach so very far”. And though the little snail survived each day, his heart was filled with sadness.

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I apologize for the long absence, but I’ve been away working on a variety of other projects. Luckily I think I’ve sorted a way to spend more time here as well, so this site should start seeing some additional attention pretty soon. What I have to present to you today though isn’t really a “Damn Short” story, but it is a short story, so don’t feel too sad. I’ll explain what it’s all about very soon, I promise.

A colorful metaphor
Exquisite and pearl
A bright shiny warmth
Implicit in you

Shining as diamond
Gleaming as hope
Igniting inside me
Boundless in scope

An embrace of acceptance
Hand on my soul
Eyes seeing my heart
Your reflection of me

Kiss on emotions
You somehow evoke
A vision I treasure
Of fires you stoke

And I of you dream
On soft pillow’d thoughts
Exposing all to you
Of the heart that burns hot.

10-15-98

So you might have noticed that we have a new look. It’s occurred to me in recent weeks that though the existing site face had a distinctive “personalized” feel, it also suffered a bit in the readability category, which, let’s face it, isn’t a good thing when you’re on a site that’s filled with stories to read. Consequently the old face has been sent to the shop for a bit of repair, and in the meantime we’ll proceed with this fresh and dandy new UI. It should offer a superior readability experience and have an overall more professional appearance, though to me it still doesn’t quite feel as homey (not the clown) as it should. Nevertheless, I do like it, and if it makes things easier on the eyes for us all, then so much the better.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention! In addition to our facial overhaul we’ve also changed our commenting requirements so that you don’t have to register on the site in order to leave your feedback. We hope that this will make it more convenient to share your thoughts on the stories we post and any feedback you have regarding the look of the site. We’d love to hear from you, so please, post away!