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Norm Jenson
http://mostlyanecdotal.org
Sad Grownups
by
She ate everything: the chilled donuts and cinnamon rolls on trays in the walk-in. She pooled excess, let flesh make rings around her.
“The single drop of pee made a pitiful splash. Fred sighed as he stood over the cracked toilet bowl that, like him, had seen better days. The public restrooms at Wattle River Reserve weren’t as dirty as he’d feared, though the walls hosted a colorful array of aging graffiti. Another couple of measly drips. Was there a job in the armed forces for people who could urinate in Morse code? If so, he’d be an ideal candidate, though it was unlikely they’d accept eighty-two-year-olds.”
― The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
― The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
“That spring when I had a great deal of potential and no money at all, I took a job as a janitor.”
― Still No Word from You: Notes in the Margin
― Still No Word from You: Notes in the Margin
“Nearby was a box of thick seventy-eights, grackle black and grackle brilliant. Thea thought the cliff might come down. But the woman was goat-footed; she got to the top and came back down and handed over the doll.”
― The Souvenir Museum
― The Souvenir Museum
“Look at the evening grackles strung on their overhead wires like Morse code! Impossible not to believe they spelled out something. But they didn’t; they were meaningless, in their numbers and their prattle. The call of a grackle is known as a grackle: in the gloaming, the grackles grackle. Maybe they don’t want anything. Maybe they stare because they wonder what you signify. What brought you here, to their front lawn?”
― The Souvenir Museum
― The Souvenir Museum
“Here I am, here to please, to knock on your heart, tug on your sleeve, and sir, do you have a moment to discuss your life goals? The state of the economy? The state that wants secession? The recession of hair, of tides? The ceasefire and the forest fire and the brand-new flavor of fire-roasted pretzels? The exegesis of today’s front-page headlines? The story of how the world will end, slash, how the world began, slash, what kind of world is this, anyway, slash, how ‘bout that certain team that plays that certain sport? How about the environment? The economy? The bathroom? As in, can I use yours? Do you like comedy? Would you perhaps consider a list of vintage novelties you played with as a child? A listicle of popsicles you ate as a child? The story of your inner child? The story of the baby and the bathwater? The story of the baby otter and the baby giraffe and their unlikely friendship? “Can you just skip the stories and give me the pamphlet?”
― Temporary
― Temporary
Norm’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Norm’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
335 books
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48 friends
1,315 books
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1,992 friends
495 books
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242 friends
2,149 books
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125 friends
1,608 books
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240 friends
1,040 books
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2,136 friends
537 books
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23 friends
853 books
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29 friends
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