Five Minute Observations

Author: Joe Class III

  • San Francisco Street: Part I

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    “Relax, Nicholas. It’s not like I died or anything,” Red took a swig from the bottle wrapped up in a brown paper bag. The vodka went down warm, not that Red could taste it anymore. For him, it was like drinking water.                “But you could’ve died.” Nick knelt next to Red, an odd thing…

  • Cauchon’s Drive to Irvine

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    Joe Class III
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    Looking through the plexiglass window to the man sitting on the passenger side of the back seat, I heard him ask me something. “Pardon me?” I asked. “What did you say?” My thoughts wandered for a second, driving through traffic on the 405 freeway.   “I said, ‘Do you enjoy driving through this traffic? It…

  • Whole Again

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    Laying the microphone down the stage, feedback reverberated through the sound system, making the audience cringe. “I want to be whole again,” the egg-shaped man replied. “What’s your name?” the mysterious magician asked. “Humpty.” “Sir, you have a crack through your shell. And,” he wandered around the man, “it goes all way round, does it…

  • Laughter in the Rain

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    His hair was dirty from sleeping in the local park, still matted with leaves, twigs, and dirt. The downpour refreshed the homeless man, a smile creeping across his toothless mouth. Holding both hands out, palms upward, he threw his head back, laughing. Onlookers stared, wondering where his joy came from. “Mister,” the young girl asked,…

  • Agree to Disagree

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    Joe Class III
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    Smiling and hugging, the two men greeted each other like long-lost friends who’d not seen each other for years. Thirty years. That was the last time they talked face to face. Several life changes happened to each of them. One tragically lost his best friend to a massive stroke, and the other lost his son…

  • Incident

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    Joe Class III
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    100-word story. Enjoy!

  • Behind the Curtain

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    Joe Class III
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    Standing behind the curtain, he held his blanket in his left hand, his right thumb stuck in his mouth, sucking away. Two silhouettes, one shorter than the other, stood in the shadows whispering, believing he was in bed. What they said, the young boy did not know, but it sounded – sad. Doing his best…

  • Josh and Will: Part V – Helping Hands Network

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    Joe Class III
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    Helping Hands Network. It started out as a project for Emily, mostly because she was tired of being bored during the Parent Teacher Conferences at her son’s junior high school. The other Moms attending were working and middle class. None of them had money or resources like she and Jonathan had. She could have enrolled…

  • Josh and Will: Emily and Jonathan – Part IV

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    “I’m only going to say this one more time, Emily.” Jonathan’s entire body tensed up. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with Emily. This was becoming a regular thing between them, most often about whose function or event they would be attending. Usually, the Bank President won out over the sitting President…

  • Bullets and Danica: Part V

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    Joe Class III
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    Persistent knocking on the door to her suite disturbed her sleep. “What do you want?” she shouted. “Ms. Chiges. It’s time to leave. We have to be at the airport in twenty minutes.” “Isn’t the plane mine?” “Technically, Ms. Chiges, yes. But Ms. Chiges, we have a schedule to keep. If we are even a…

  • Chef Ballarchi

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    To start with, this guy. I don’t even know how to describe him because to do so, at least in this day and age of everyone being offended about every little thing means to accurately describe him, would take some doing. Let’s start with his stylish clothing. He was dressed to the nines, almost like…

  • Josh and Will – The Truck Driver

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    Joe Class III
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    “You are outta your-ever-lovin’ mind, Bill!” Shouting, the oversized man pointed at the television screen. “There ain’t no way that the Cubs are gonna beat the Cardinals this year. It ain’t gonna happen.” He sipped his coffee while pointing to the screen. In the corner of the café was a flatscreen television tuned to the…

  • But I’m Not Lying!

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    Joe Class III
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    Grow up around any creative industry, and chances are you won’t see it like everyone else. For example, if your Dad is a football coach for an NFL team, the chances of you not meeting a famous player are very low. If your Mom works as a CPA for an accounting firm that only deals…

  • The New American Culture: Isolation

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    Joe Class III
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    American culture is so ingrained in each of us that we fail to recognize and be thankful for the things we do have. Instead, we focus on our desires, wants, and perceived needs. Isolationist attitude with our closed-off homes with automatic garage door openers and outside back decks hidden behind privacy fencing. Does any of…

  • Josh and Will: Research vs Reality Part II

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    Will wasn’t the most active kid in the neighborhood. Honestly, exercise wasn’t his thing. The only kind of outside activity he did, reluctantly at that, was riding his bike. Riding around the neighborhood was a freeing activity, not exercise, at least not in Will’s book. Josh, on the other hand, was an active kid. Watching…

  • Josh and Will: Research vs Reality Part I

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    “What do you mean it’s all gone?”                “Exactly what I said. It’s gone. All of it.”                Gary was a tall man compared to the rest of the research team. He stuck his hands deep into the pockets of a white lab coat, jingling his keys. “You’re sure?”                His friend and coworker nodded.…

  • Josh and Will – Return Home

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    Laying on the grass, both boys stared into the pale blue sky. “Will? Are you there?” Josh’s voice sounded like he was speaking through water or maybe jello. That feeling you get from water being stuck in your ears? That’s what Josh was experiencing. There was something unnatural about the loss of his hearing. He…

  • Love Gone

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    Rocking in the gliding chair made him think about the time before kindness left the world. “Do you remember what it was like? I mean, before hatred came on stronger than love? When did love become an outlawed emotion?”                “Sid, you’ve been sitting in the same chair, rocking in the same way, before I…

  • The Bartender

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    Joe Class III
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    He stood on the other side of the bar, mixing a drink for one of the other patrons sitting beside me. “How’s your night going,” he asked, rubbing a lemon wedge over the rim of the glass. On the left side of his t-shirt was a surf logo, one I didn’t recognize. The back of…

  • Outside the Grocery Store

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    “No finesse whatsoever. Park wherever you want to, huh? Is that how you think driving works?” Their windows were rolled down, so you heard every word he spat at her. His hat was on backward, the brim touching his neck. Several tattoos were visible on his face, a few on both arms, and, as expected,…