Archive for April 2007

Overnight Drugstore Manager

Posted to Stories on the topic of Work on 17 April 2007, with 38 comments so far.

by Lance Lemieux—Age 27—Chicago, IL
The year is 2001. When I get off work it will be Christmas morning.
Until then I’m in drug store hell.
Third shift is not something I usually do, but tonight I’m the overnight manager, and I’ve decided to smoke and drink a bit before work.
My crew consists of a squirrelly pharmacist whom […]

In Memoriam, Kurt Vonnegut

Posted to 400 Words News on 12 April 2007, with 4 comments so far.

This morning, as I open my web browser to Arts & Letters Daily, I see a link to a New York Times article reporting that Kurt Vonnegut has died. Vonnegut passed away in Manhattan last night. He was 84.
I haven’t picked up a Vonnegut book in years, but he and his work were a full-blown […]

Cop (II): Normal

Posted to Stories on the topic of Work on 8 April 2007, with 2 comments so far.

by Doug Dahl—Age 36—Blaine, WA
Minutes after my wife joined me in the car for her first law enforcement ride-along, we got the call. With my patrol car straddling the centerline of the busiest two-lane road in the county, I accelerated to speeds approaching 100 miles per hour, weaving through what felt like two rows of […]

Engineering Faculty

Posted to Stories on the topic of Work on 6 April 2007, with 8 comments so far.

by William C. Burns, Jr.–Age 53–Greenville, SC
Initial Contact
In this dream I am a clown by profession. I make tense situations easier for people. Situations like learning, biomedical engineering, differential equations applied to electronics, the usual clown stuff.
I turn my beat up ‘84 Buick into the faculty parking lot. I get out […]