TumbleDweeeb

Emmitt Owens

TumbleDweeeb

  • Chill n’Fill #58 (Book 2, Episode 27)

    Another Night at Chill n’Fill: Love, Loss, and Labor    It was Friday night at Chill n’Fill, out here where the darkness stretched for miles in every direction and our mechanically-winking polar bear served as the only beacon of civilization for truckers, night shift workers, and the occasional lost soul who’d wandered too far from Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #57 (Book 2, Episode 26)

    The Secret Life of Chill n’Fill: After Hours    It was 2:47 AM on a Tuesday, that dead hour when the highway fell silent and the fluorescent lights hummed their loneliest tune. Out here in rural Alabama, 12 miles from the nearest town and surrounded by nothing but pine trees and darkness, I’d just finished Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #60 (Book 2, Episode 30)

    Dating Dilemmas, Critical Blogs, and Bear Conspiracies    Friday night at Chill n’Fill was shaping up to be one of those evenings where people seemed compelled to share their deepest existential crises with whoever happened to be working the register. Behind me, tonight’s painting had materialized as Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the Sea of Read more

  • Chill’n’Fill #56 (Book 2, Episode 25)

    Another Night at Chill n’Fill: Dawgs, Skateboards, and Gas Buckets It was Friday night at Chill n’Fill, out here where the darkness stretched for miles in every direction and our mechanically-winking polar bear served as the only beacon of civilization for truckers, night shift workers, and the occasional lost soul who’d wandered too far from 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 #55 (Book 2, Episode 23)

    The Great Doritos Heist and Other Wednesday Night Adventures    It was Wednesday night at Chill n’Fill, and I was two hours into my shift when Bob’s latest creation nearly gave me a heart attack. He’d transformed our one-eyed polar bear mascot into what he called “Detective Bear,” complete with a deerstalker hat that was Read more

  • Chill n’Fill: A Special Pop-Up

    Another Night at Chill n’Fill: The Prophet of Unnecessary Predictions *A Special Edition: Pop-Up Story*    It was early Tuesday night at Chill n’Fill, and I was three hours into my shift when Bob decided tonight was the night for what he called his “Grand Unveiling Ceremony.” Through the front windows, I could see him Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #54 (Book 2, Episode 22)

    Dad brought his teenage son to our store for a heart-to-heart about not following dangerous trends just because they’re popular. Kid went from sullen to actually listening when his father said “following trends is just peer pressure with better marketing.” Parenting level: expert 👨‍👦✨ Read more

  • Chill n’Fill #53 (Book 2, Episode 21)

    Another Night at Chill n’Fill: The Factory Worker, The Choice Maker, and The Value Builder    It was Thursday night at Chill n’Fill, and I was three hours into my shift when the fluorescent lights started their familiar buzz-flicker routine that always gave me a headache by midnight. Another evening as chronicler of convenience store Read more

  • The Art of You

    …begin with static—that hum between radio stationswhere your soul lives      you are verb.action.becominga living algorithm of choice/mistake/choice againcoded in the language of maybe    (parentheses hold your secrets)[brackets frame your fears]{curly braces embrace your contradictions}         DNA → RNA → protein → YOUthe biological poetryof existence refusing                    to                        rhyme scattered like:  bread crumbs   coffee stains      love Read more