After Jay told Miguel and their stepfather Hank about his firefighter training—climbing three-story ladders, rushing upstairs as controlled fires raged, running sprints at the college track—Miguel made his first mistake. He rocked back in his barstool at the kitchen counter and looked at his younger brother. “Yeah, well, I’ve still got it. That squat Mexican speed thing. Waste you on the pavement.”
Promotion
At the donut shop, Victor followed the manager Kurt’s instructions and asked his first customer of the day if she had an AARP card. “You get a free donut if you have one.”
Leaving Key West – Editor’s Pick
I looked up. The vultures were circling. Chris would've pointed to the mangroves and said, "There must be something dead in there.” The dead thing of the moment was lobster. Summers were dead here. Then, at the end of July, the place filled up with lobster divers. That’s what they called them, divers, but the water was so shallow it was less like diving and more like reaching your hand out of your boat and grabbing a lobster.
The Art of Listening
“Can you clear some of the stuff out of the attic?” my husband asks. “I need to fix that cracked window. The clutter’s in my way.”
Maceo
Lyudmelia blew smoke rings at the kitchen table. As she exhaled, she squinted at the mismatched aluminum chairs. They had been meant for company. Mom had given her and Maceo money for them when they were first married.
Brian Koppelman’s Moment
At the start of every week I always look forward to who Brian Koppelman has interviewed on his podcast The Moment. Lately he’s been killing it. I came upon BK when Marc Maron interviewed him. Podcasting has taken the world by storm, and if you’re like me it is a great source of insightful interviews with creative people you might not ever get access to. Check out: WTF, The Moment with Brian Koppelman, You Must Remember This just to name a few. Oh, and don’t get me started on the brilliance of the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. I’m not sold on How To Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black, but it is growing on me.