Everyday Ironies #1

On the bumpy airline flight, all of them so close to death playing games on their cell phones. At the world hunger awareness meeting, someone complains about the refreshments. At the small-town diner, a table of foul-mouthed senior citizens debate the existence of angels. Somewhere under his business suit hides a nice guy. Discussing suicide, she offers to pay for the next lunch. Entering its third hour, the five-minute afternoon nap. Through perfect, polished teeth, he tells only lies. Skipping stones, the frozen lake makes them all experts. Such a high voice for a man who shaves twice a day.

Everyday Ironies #2

At 7 a.m. every day of their vacation, the neighbors’ alarm clock fills their empty house. Behind the fancy thousand-dollar jungle gym, kids swing from tree limbs. Discarded atop the roadside trash pile, a private-property sign. In the deserted park with dozens of benches, the strangers sit inches apart. After the November windstorm, a littering of broken campaign signs. On the Midwest interstate, the car ahead signals a turn for fifty-seven miles. At the four-way stop sign, everyone waves everyone through. On Pleasant Street, a passing driver gives the finger. In the middle of nowhere, a sign reads, free parking.

John Sheirer

is a writer and teacher from New England. His most recent book is Stumbling Through Adulthood: Linked Stories (Janice Beetle Books, 2021), winner of several awards including 2022 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist.

Author’s website: http://www.johnsheirer.com