Booger Jack

Soul Mates

2012-01-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

Not Your Average Potato,
Clockwise Cat,
December 2011

What small potatoes we all are,
compared to what we might be!

- Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, Fifteenth Week

586 Lexington Avenue

2011-12-25T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Seven Year Scratch,
Doorknobs & Bodypaint,
December 2011

“A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left.”

That's your implant talking

2011-12-25T04:56:00.000-08:00

Mind Radio,
Static Movement,
December 2011

The mind of man is capable of anything -- because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future.

--- Joseph Conrad (The Heart of Darkness, 1902)

Ours is not to reason why

2011-10-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

Stay on the Train,
Static Movement,
October 2011

The midnight train is whining low, I'm so lonesome I could cry.

--- Hank Williams (1942)

The man's purpose is to make the woman look good

2011-09-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Why Most Men Don't Dance,
mouseprose,
Fantasy, September 2011

In ballet, it's woman. Women are lighter, more flexible. They move more beautifully. He is not the King, but she's the Queen.
- George Balanchine

Find yourself a teacher

2011-09-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Desperados,
Clockwise Cat,
August 2011

If you give to a thief he cannot steal from you, and he is then no longer a thief.

William Saroyan - The Human Comedy

It was either that or the chicken dance

2011-08-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

Waltz,
Doorknobs & Bodypaint,
August 2011

I'll always remember the song they were playing/
The first time we danced and I knew.

Wayland Holyfield – Could I have This Dance

Belly to belly

2011-08-13T05:47:00.001-07:00

Disguise,
Static Movement,
August 2011

O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the dancer from the dance?

--- William Butler Yeats

She knows when you are sleeping

2011-06-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

Bug in His Nose,
Static Movement,
June 2011

We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the Secret sits in the middle and knows.

--- Robert Frost

My Brother's Collection

2011-06-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

Garbage,
Doorknobs & Bodypaint,
November 2011

I wear the chain I forged in life.

Marley's Ghost – A Christmas Carol

Migrating Waterfoul

2011-05-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Petroleum Pelican,
Clockwise Cat,
February 2011

All of a sudden came the pelicans:
crazy old men in baseball caps, who flew
like jackknives and collapsed like fans.

John Malcolm Brinnin -- Skin Diving in the Virgins

We called it Trog

2011-04-10T04:09:00.000-07:00

What was it, or He, or She?

Ascent Aspirations,

April 2011

He would answer to "Hi!" or any loud cry

Lewis Carroll – The Hunting of the Snark

Men and Melons are hard to know. (Benjamin Franklin - Poor Richard's Almanac)

2011-03-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

Customer Service,
Doorknobs & Bodypaint,
November 2010

Unclasps her warmed jewels one by one;
Loosens her fragrant bodice; by degrees
Her rich attire creeps rustling to her knees.

John Keats – The Eve of Saint Agnes – Stanza XXVI

Gourmet Cuisine

2011-01-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

Rat Legs On Pita Bread,
Clockwise Cat,
January 2011

De gustibus non disputandum

[There is no accounting for tastes].

- Anonymous Latin Proverb.

He was her man and she done him wrong

2011-01-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

He Lost Faith,
Static Movement,
January 2011

Faith may be defined briefly as as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.

--- H.L. Mencken

You're the only one who's seen the albino. We'll need you to identify him.

2010-12-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas Story,
Static Movement,
December 2010

He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons.

--- Mark 16:9

Morrigan, The Great Queen, Goddess of War

2010-12-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

The Crone Pointed to a Spot on the Map,
Ascent Aspirations,
December 2010

She is a shape shifter and appears as a raven to eat the dead.

The rules are in a constant state of flux

2010-11-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

Blessed Betty,
Doorknobs & Bodypaint,
November 2010

Suppose saints could be chosen the way winners are on Dancing With The Stars. Who would you vote for?

Notes From the Underground

2010-11-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Imagine,
Static Movement,
November 2010

Elysium is as far as to

The very nearest Room

If in that Room a Friend await

Felicity or Doom

--- Emily Dickinson

It's deja vu all over again

2010-10-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

The Wayward Cell Phone,
Ascent Aspirations,
October 2010

When I left home this morning, I had no idea I'd come back a week ago.

Why some writer's don't wait for the muse

2010-09-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

Topaz,
Static Movement,
September 2010

There are thought to be nine muses, one for each of the arts recognized in Greco-Roman times. Considering how art has evolved since then, there are probably many more now, some of which do not have the ancients' classic beauty.

My mother always said, "If he's hungry, he'll eat it."

2010-09-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Fly Paper - A Recipe,
Clockwise Cat,
August 2010

It's protein, alright? Chameleons love them.

As told to...

2010-09-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

Gina Tells Me How She Drowned,
Doorknobs & Bodypaint,
August 2010

It took years to publish this story. I finally realized why. The title was Drowning and I was using my byline, but the story is told from a female point of view. So I changed the title and here it is.

The Island Horses

2010-08-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hoof Hearted,
Ascent Aspirations,
August 2010

The idea for this story came to me when I was reading about the Chincoteague Island horses.

You can read about the legend of the Chincoteague Island horses here.

You can see pictures of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge here.

Get an afterlife.

2010-07-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Stuck in Time,
Ascent Aspirations,
July 2010

I should have retired last year. I could be sitting on a beach in the Riviera instead of this dump.

Lily? Are you sure?

2010-06-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

They Have White Stellate Blossoms,
Static Movement,
June 2010

But lilies are such big, bold flowers and these were so small and shy. There were so many of them. I'm sure I heard them croaking.

Call Tech Support

2010-06-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

Speak or dial your response at any time

Answering Machine,
Clockwise Cat,
Issue 17, May 2010

Pick a number, any number and listen to recorded music.

Psych Out

2010-06-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

Who are you going to trust?

Wintergreen Neurosis,
Doorknobs & BodyPaint,
Issue 58, May 2010

The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet.”- Damon Runyon

2010-05-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

It got so hot in Texas this past summer, that all of the grass in the back yard died. It was replaced by native plants. Some of them were viney creatures that grew tall and sent out tentacles that strangled the roses. But the roses fought back. I heard them singing at night, I Will Survive. They reminded me of the bony bovines in this story.

Cows Gone Wild,
Ascent Aspirations,
May 2010

They told you to eat more chicken, but you wouldn't listen.

For the first time, my artwork with my story.

2010-04-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Reptilian Snakes,
Static Movement,
April 2010

Chris Bartholomew, the editor of Static Movement, visited my blog, saw the illustrations and asked me to submit one with the next story. So this time, to see the illustration you'll have to go to the ezine, because Static Movement has first rights. I would have posted it sooner, but I was supposed to be in Germany last week. Then the volcano erupted. There are strange things happening in the magma.

2010-04-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's time to return to our roots.

Tuber War,
WSU Nexus,
Winter 2010

If this is made into a movie, who should play Billy Beet?

2010-03-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Do pigs make good pets?

Moonbeams and Cheese,
Doorknobs & BodyPaint,
Issue 57, February 2010

I don't know, but if the package includes a fabulous babe, you've got yourself a deal.

2010-03-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Something's fishy in the City of Hair

Fisherman's Splatter,
Clockwise Cat,
Issue 16, March 2010

My simulated city was going well until the corpses started turning up.

2010-02-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

This is my Valentine's Day Story

Hefty Bag Gal,
Static Movement,
February 2010

Cooder and Chesty have been on-again-off-again sweathearts for a long time. Everybody wonders if they will ever run away together. This may be the day.

2010-02-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

This much is true: We did speak to a technical support person with an Indian accent who said his name was Maverick.

Do Not Attempt to Snapshot the Locals,
Ascent Aspirations,
February 2010

People ask where I get my ideas for stories. I lead a writing workshop once a month. We begin with a twenty minute writing exercise. I hand out a page of lines from poems to serve as prompts. Back in July of 2008, the line, "Do not endeavor to snapshot the locals" from a poem by Michael Dumanis was on the list. It was the inspiration this story.

2010-01-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

Cooder leads the lineup in 2010

Arms and the Man,
Static Movement,
January 2010

I try to finish one piece of flash fiction a week. Flash is a story in 1000 words or fewer. For each one, I prepare an illustration, because I need the practice drawing, painting and editing with Photoshop. So far, only my writing group has seen the illustrations. This post is the first time I am including the illustration with the link to the story.

First new story on the blog

2009-12-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

The Secretary Winked,
Ascent Aspirations,
Volume 13, Number 6, November/December 2009

We first met Mister Blister in Shred It! Now he's back with a new job and a new secretary.

Web page lost when Geocities closed in October 2009

2009-11-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

My web page was lost when Yahoo closed Geocities in October 2009, so here are the old links:

The Dancing Fool by John Ward

Stories for the New Millenium
Posted as they are published online

Click on the Title to go to the story,
the Journal name to go to the home page,
the Issue to go to the table of contents.

Poetic Sensibilities, Static Movement, October 2009

Phobophobia: Fear of Fears, Doorknobs & Bodypaint, Issue 55, August 2009

Forbidden Fruit, WSU Nexus, August 2009

Corn Cob Cabin, Static Movement, August 2009

Pausing to Shake the Spit from Their Horns, Clockwise Cat, Issue Fourteen, July 2009

When In Doubt Throw Up, Clockwise Cat, Issue Fourteen, June 2009

Barbed-wire Beach, Static Movement, July 2009

The Recent Unpheasantries, Static Movement, June 2009

David, Doorknobs & Bodypaint, Issue 54, May 2009

Shred It!, Ascent Aspirations, Volume 13, Number 2, May 2009

Subterranean Fears, Static Movement, May 2009

The Way She Held Her Head, Clockwise Cat, Issue Thirteen, March 2009