The Tuesday Afternoon Authors is a group of eight Rose Villa residents who write very short stories for fun, and in some cases, documenting their own experience. The stories are shared by their authors at each meeting, held at 1:30 pm on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. The writing process begins two weeks in advance of each meeting when 3 or 4 interesting photos, selected by one of the members, are distributed to each author. The author selects one of these photos as a “prompt” and writes a story, usually about two pages long, referencing the photo. Each author distributes their story to the group and then reads it aloud at the next meeting. The group needs to remain small, but there is room for one or two new members. Contact Bob Sack at [email protected] for more information.
Some of our Stories
The Park by Kate Birdsall (memoir)
It was snowing that morning. I rose early, before the sun, as I always did. I dressed and walked the one block to the park, as always. This was my only time for myself, the only time I could be sure of peace, the only time to be quiet, and I guarded it, treasured it, held it close. I stood by the bench, looking out through the falling snow at the empty space of the park. Read More…
Finding Paradise by Linda Burk (fiction)
Jake and Sarah were happily settled on their newly acquired farm in Canby, Oregon. They both thought it was paradise. Jake decided that at 58 years old it was time to retire from his job with the gas company in Pennsylvania. Sarah was ready to retire from teaching after 30 years. Their dream was to move to a more eco-friendly place and raise sheep. Read More…
One Wet Day by Evey Cole (fiction)
It wasn’t just one wet day, it was day after day, until the river was full to overflowing, gardens sopping, and Charley’s head was sunk into gloom. He knew that it was rainy in the winter, he just had to be patient and the clouds would roll away and the sun come out again. But he was fed up to his whiskers (he didn’t have any whiskers but liked the sound of them) and wondered if he could find something to do. Read More…
I’ve Got Crabs by Hank Hadaway (fiction)
It was the crack of dawn, time for breakfast not for me but for the swarm of mosquitos circling my head. I reluctantly pulled off the mosquito netting from my face. The bed sheets had become sodden from my sweating through the hot humid night. They stuck to my body as a peeled them off to reluctantly put my feet down on the wooden floor trying not to disturb Chessie my trusty four legged companion. Read More…
Monte Carlo by Elliot McIntire (fiction)
It was cheap, I will give you that. I had arrived in town with only a few dollars in my pocket, so finding a place that I could afford until I got a job was not easy. I finally found a room upstairs over an Italian restaurant. Its location was good. It was just a block from a transit station, with bus lines and subways running all over the city from there, so I could get around fairly easily. Read More…
Failed Farm Dog Blue by Carl Petterson (fiction)
Scientists think dogs and mankind have lived near each other for thousands of years. Early man saw that when the bands of the tamer wolves lived around their camp the larger, more dangerous wild animals stayed away from camp. Today with abundant food and leisure time it is hard to realize that idle dogs were an unaffordable luxury for farm folk as recently as 1900. Read More…
Insomnia Epiphany by Bob Sack (fiction)
It was 1:30 a.m. and still Erik couldn’t fall asleep. His wife Kitty didn’t snore, but she made regular puffy breathing sounds that were distracting. The day had been hot and, of course, the air conditioning was on the blink. In an attempt to cool the bedroom, Erik had opened the window, but that made the sounds of the occasional car driving by loud and clear. Read More…