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Emmitt Owens

life

  • Chill’n’Fill: Book 3, Episode 1

    Chill’n’FillBook 3: Episode 1New Faces, Old Mysteries, and the Passing of the PenWritten By: Emmitt Owens    The announcement crackled through Chill n’Fill’s speakers with Bob’s characteristic blend of corporate formality and complete detachment from reality. I watched from behind the counter as the handful of evening customers paused their snack selections to listen, their Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #63 (Book 2, Episode 33)

    Mad Mechanics and Midnight Revelations    Saturday night at Chill n’Fill was buzzing with an unusual energy, the kind that comes when change is stirring in a small town. Behind me, tonight’s painting had appeared as René Magritte’s “The Treachery of Images” from 1929—that famous pipe with “This is not a pipe” written beneath it, Read more

  • Chill’n’Fill #59 (Book 2, Episode 28)

    Smoke Signals, Artistic Rebellion, and Hypocritical Hearts    Saturday night at Chill n’Fill had that restless energy of a weekend in full swing, where people emerged from their weekly routines ready to embrace whatever chaos the night might offer. Behind me, tonight’s painting had appeared as Jackson Pollock’s “Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)”—all those wild, Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #56 (Book 2, Episode 24)

    Another Night at Chill n’Fill: The Entrepreneur, The Wink Warriors, and The Mirror Mystic   It was Saturday night at Chill n’Fill, and I was three hours into my shift when Bob’s latest masterpiece caught my attention through the front windows. He’d transformed our one-eyed polar bear mascot into what he called “Business Bear” this Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #48 (Book 2, Episode 16)

    At Chill n’Fill, a late-night convenience store, the protagonist navigates various customer interactions, reflecting on human connections and societal dynamics. A pizza delivery driver theorizes the store as a microcosm of social behavior, while a grieving nursing home worker finds empathy amidst grief. The narrative illustrates moments of kindness, philosophical insights, and confrontations with entitlement. Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #47 (Book 2, Episode 13)

    Another Night at Chill n’Fill: Monuments, Creeps, and the Gray Hoodie    It was Saturday night at Chill n’Fill, and I’d just finished rearranging the candy display according to Bob’s latest merchandising theory. Chocolate bars now lived next to energy drinks in the “depression remedies” section, while sour candies had been relocated to “aggressive emotions” Read more

  • 7160 W. 14 Road (1985/1986)

    The House on West 14 Road    In the spring of 1985, my family relocated from 112 John Street to 7160 W. 14 Rd. in Mesick, Michigan, a rural community known locally as Glengary. I was about to turn nine years old. The sprawling five-bedroom, two-story house stood weathered against the Michigan landscape, its painted Read more

  • Chris Henson Rants: #10 Marty’s Quikmart Chill n’Fill

          OKAY WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS GAS STATION CALLED CHILL N’ FILL AND THEIR DEMONIC WINKING BEAR MASCOT!!!! 😤😤😤 Chris Henson here, and I’m LOSING MY MIND over this establishment!!!   First of all, what kind of name is “CHILL N’ FILL”??? Every time I say it, I feel like I’m Read more

  • Chill n’Fill: Episode #38 (Book 2, Episode 4)

    Chill n’Fill Chronicles: The Night of the Little Car Thief, The Local Ranting Man & Officers Looking    My Friday night shift at Chill n’Fill was officially entering the twilight zone. The one-eyed polar bear sign outside flickered rhythmically, as if winking at the parade of weirdness that was about to unfold. Bob’s “rebranding” of Read more

  • Chris Henson Rants: #63 ‘I Don’t Know’

          WHY DO PEOPLE ACT LIKE ANSWERING “I DON’T KNOW” IS A PERSONAL FAILING EQUIVALENT TO ADMITTING YOU KICK PUPPIES IN YOUR SPARE TIME?!?!? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ Chris Henson here, and I am having a COMPLETE EPISTEMOLOGICAL MELTDOWN over society’s BIZARRE AVERSION to the most HONEST THREE WORDS in the English language!!!   Has anyone else noticed Read more