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New to Five Minute Observations? Welcome. I’m Joe Class III, and I write stories and essays about what I notice, the encounters that reveal something true, and the moments that stick with you after they’re gone. If you’re just getting started, these three pieces will give you a sense of what this space is about:…
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“I’ll help you find Ruby.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Gracie’s hand gripped mine so tight my knuckles turned white. Johnson nodded once. “Smart choice, Mr. Sullivan.” “I have conditions.” He smiled. “Of course you do.” But some deals come with a price, one that neither of us expected.
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They practiced this dance before. We hadn’t. Three black Suburbans. No escape. Agent Johnson wants fifteen minutes to talk. Fifteen minutes to change everything. The continuation of The Missing Building by Joe Class III
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Have you ever read something on social media that made you literally sit up and take notice? “That’s demonic!” did it for me. Here’s why we need to stop calling people demonic before we know their story.
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Before I turned six, Christmas meant joy. Now it’s a reminder of what’s missing. This year something’s shifting, and I’m more than ready to experience this season differently.
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The shower didn’t help. Twenty minutes of hot water, and I still couldn’t figure out what to say to Agent Johnson. Or whoever he really was. After eight men show up at 3 AM looking for my cousin Ruby, I need answers. But when I dial the number on his business card, nothing is what…
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An impossible photograph and a woman who knows too much. A grandfather dead for thirty years, alive. Paul’s quiet retirement? It’s over.
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Nervous parents take a risk, driving to Jackson, Missouri in 1981. What starts as a five-minute chat becomes a glimpse into how a Homecomers tradition was born.
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One unexpected photograph lands on the table at Dan’s Drive-In Diner, and the building in the picture? It might not exist anymore.
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Father, Wake me in the morning. Fill my lungs with breath. Strengthen my legs to run. Give me imagination, vision, and light. Let me see everything You have graciously given me. The sun rises because You love us. You show me how to be a good father. You hold me in Your hand through grief…
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COVID-19. That’s what broke us, fracturing our collective cultural souls. Locking our doors to keep out the virus. Watching our neighbors’ suspicious activity. Somehow we lost two full years of casual, everyday interactions. The very ones reminding us we are human.Two years later, emerging from our isolation, we forgot. We stopped being kind. Today a…
Stories. Enjoy!
