#869 The King of Elves- Philip K. Dick

#869 The King of Elves- Philip K. Dick

At the end of a quiet rainy day, Shadrach was closing up his filling station and saw a group of elves cowering in the cold and wet. He welcomed them to his home up the street and they were thankful. In the night, the Elf King died and announced his successor to be Shadrach himself. The simple act of kindness he had shown in their hour of need, had proven him kind and worthy enough to be King of the Elves.

“You brought him inside your house, out of the rain. He knew that you ecpected nothing for it, that there was nothing you wanted. He had known few who gave and asked nothing back.”

He accepted the post, and although most of his friends and neighbors thought he was going a bit looney, His best friend Phineas knew he wasn’t. A war with the trolls was coming and his leadership was needed. He wasn’t prepared to leave his filling station so soon, but found himself face-to-face with the surprising leader of the Trolls. Great opportunity reveals great men, even if you are not prepared for it.

Rating: 7-7-8-7 Total= 29

#868 The Monkey- Tove Jansson

#868 The Monkey- Tove Jansson

This is a humorous dig at critics. An aging sculptor lives a lonely life. His only companion is a monkey he treats like a child or a friend. This is the day his latest art show is being reviewed and like the rest, he reads the write-ups with disdain. He sees the critics as leeches and brainless animals intent only on destroying what’s there instead of enjoying or supporting artists. In the following statement he compares his monkey to the critics:

“The monkey was like all the rest of them. The tiniest crack, the least stain or defect, and her fingers were there to make it worse or pick it apart. She noticed everything, every tiny sign of weakness, and that’s where she’d bite and rip and tear. That’s the way monkeys are, but they don’t know any better and so we forgive them. The others are unforgivable.”

Notable Passage: “He overtipped him out of pure contempt.”

Rating: 7-7-8-6 Total= 28

#867 The Lighthouse- Anthony Grooms

#867 The Lighthouse- Anthony Grooms

A story told in two perspectives. Otie is in the mental home, but gets to visit church on Sunday. He watches as the congregation, mostly woman, is worked into frenzy by the young, attractive preacher. Then he gets called out and the Preacher comes over to cast out his demons. This is not the fist time, nor will it be the last time he needs saving. Watching from the back is his nephew, a college boy and a cynic. He doesn’t believe in all this and is hated by the preacher. The preacher believes book learning corrupts.

After the service, Otie goes back to his sinning ways and his nephew goes back to watching it all happen. He still goes to church, maybe for the entertainment or waiting to be taken by the spirit like everyone else.

Notable Passage: “When the commotion quiets down, the Holy Rollers get down to the real business of religion—collecting money.”

Rating: 7-6-6-7 Total= 26

#866 A Betrayal of Mirrors- Bohumil Hrabal

#866 A Betrayal of Mirrors- Bohumil Hrabal

The things we believe in keep us going. But what if it’s all a myth. Working for God and country is the drive of many people, but it could also be their undoing. We see a stonemason as a hard working man, literally working his fingers to the bone to remove commemorative plaques in one wall of a church just to re-attach them on another, all for the glory of the nation.

We also see an artist, temperamental and odd, but no less sacrificing in his work. He has been working night and day, to the point of being physically ill to create his latest piece of art, one that will be destroyed anyway, again, all for the glory of the state. Their sacrifice is to be looked on in envy by the rest of he public. Images and ethics to strive towards.

“The best minds in the country are sacrificing themselves…So am I. I’m educating the nation not to jump off moving streetcars.”

Rating: 7-8-7-7 Total= 29

#865- These Are the Fables- Amelia Gray

#865- These Are the Fables- Amelia Gray

Like a lot of short or flash fiction, this piece is a kind of Rorschach test. Depending on your outlook on life this could either be a hopeful or completely depressing look at a middle-aged wayward couple struggling with the reality that they are going to have a child. Their lives are not suited for such responsibility, they can barely take care of themselves and their surroundings are literally going up in flames.

“All I had wanted that morning was an old-fashioned and the absence of puke. I said that everything would be all right, that we were living in the best of all possible Dunkin’ Donuts parking lots.”

That’s probably the first Voltaire reference I’ve seen wrapped in a fast food plug.

Rating: 7-7-7-6 Total= 27

#864 Home Delivery- Stephen King

#864 Home Delivery- Stephen King

I guess you could say this story is about sacrifice, personal growth, dependence. You could say it is about a mother who lives on a literal island that becomes a symbol for the isolation a young widow experiences while she deals with her first pregnancy alone. It could be a story about how community and cooperation can battle the cruelty of the world. You can say it is about a lot of things. But really, this is just a zombie story.

“When you could no longer call the 800 number and order Boxcar Willie records that were not available in ant store, when there were for the first time in her living memory no Operators Standing By, the end of the world was a foregone conclusion.”

Rating: 7-5-5-5 Total= 22

#863 Hunter/Trapper- Arthur Nersesian

#863 Hunter/Trapper- Arthur Nersesian

        

A man connects with a woman in an internet chat room for S & M. She is shy and reticent but he is persistent. After a while of her not taking any kind of bait, he thinks she may be in the wrong room.

“It was as though some ponytailed Dorothy from Kansas had accidentally ventured into this Oz of Bondage and Domination. I could see why she didn’t get much action. No one else would have put up with her.”

Regardless, they chat for months becoming good friends, all the while he kept insisting they become closer. In private he is a real life predator and is planning to take her as his next victim. When she finally leads enough bread crumbs for him to find her, the cat catches the mouse.

Rating: 7-7-7-7 Total= 28