writing
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Another Night at Chill n’Fill: The Baby Lotion Theorists It was Friday night at Chill n’Fill, and I was nearing the end of what Bob optimistically called my “probationary period” but what I recognized as “we can’t find anyone else willing to work these hours for minimum wage plus the occasional expired energy drink.”… Read more
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The Writer, The Aggravator, and The False Prophet It was Thursday night at Chill n’Fill, and I’d just finished rearranging the energy drink display into a color gradient that would make a rainbow jealous. Bob had insisted this would “maximize the chromatic purchasing energy” of our customers, whatever that meant. At least it gave… Read more
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Another Night at Chill n’Fill: Signs, Romance, and the Color Blue It was Friday night at Chill n’Fill, and I’d just finished arranging the energy drinks into an elaborate pyramid that Bob insisted would “enhance their caffeinated aura.” The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, occasionally flickering in a way that made me wonder if our… Read more
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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
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The Night of the Silent Breakdown, the Snack Commander, and the Law-Defying Fisherman It was Wednesday night at Chill n’Fill, and I was halfway through my shift when the fluorescent lights flickered in that particular way that always gave me a migraine by midnight. Jennifer had called in “sick” again, this time claiming she’d… Read more
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The Night of the Cryptid Hunter, the Sock Puppeteer, and the Sleep-Deprived Physicist My Friday night shift at Chill n’Fill was off to an even stranger start than usual. The one-eyed polar bear sign outside wasn’t just flickering tonight—it was pulsating in a bizarre rhythm that Bob insisted was “part of our new sensory… Read more
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