an old writer and his words

  • MS WORD THESAURUS

    birthbeginningopeningbreachalienationestrangementenmitymalicemalevolencehatredrepugnancehostilityconflictbattlecombatassaultonslaughtaggressionbrutalitysavagenessatrocitycrimeassaultstrikebeatvanquishcrushannihilatedestroymurderhomicidedeath First published in The Candid Review, Issue 3, 2024https://thecandidreview.org/ms-word-thesaurus/

    Lou Faber

  • THE MISSING POWER

    We have granted ourselvestremendous powers that oncewere reserved to the Gods.We have long overthrown themand assumed their thrones.We can destroy cities, evencountries on a whim, andif not careful can eradicateall life on this planet.We can harness rivers,the wind, the sun, the atom.Yet despite all our powerwe cannot avoid growingold, we cannot avoid dyingfor that is…

    Lou Faber

  • COLLEGE DAYS

    All these years later he still could not fathom why he had done it. It wasn’t something he had thought about doing, but one day he just did it, showed up and got the gig on the carrier current station that reached 96% of the campus. On a good day. But he liked it and…

    Lou Faber

  • PROTECT AND DEFEND

    Today they sent me an email telling me that I need to change my password. They do this periodically, a reminder not to let others know my password. They suggest that I not keep it in a place where others might find it, that I should keep it hidden away, and they have a solution…

    Lou Faber

  • ALL NEW

    She says that with her new CIthe water in the reverse osmosis machinesounds strangely like a fountain.I am tempted to tell her to justclose her eyes and imaginefor a moment we are backin Rome, standing in front,of the Trevi Fountain, hearingthe Euro coins plunk down in the waterto the joyful chortles of the touristswho perpetually…

    Lou Faber

  • IT WILL WAIT

    I’ve finally given up the internal debateabout whether to turn the phone offduring the night, no longer worryingthat I would miss a critical call.I have lived more than long enoughto know that the only calls that comein the heart of the night are thoseannouncing a disaster, a crisis ormost often, recently, another death.I know now…

    Lou Faber

  • ACROSS A BORDER

    I can only begin to imagine, vicariously,what it is like to cross the borderinto the land of deafness, hear all you knewfade and garble, need vision to seewhat a speaker is saying, wonder whysongs you thought you knew nowhave lyrics you do not recognize at all.My wife is on this journey and nowhas a cochlear…

    Lou Faber

  • FLUTING

    She says that since the cochlear implantall she hears is battling flutists, and she adds“you know how I hate the flute.”I remind her that she did love Paul Hornbut she retorts “only in small doses.’A friend says it could be worse, it couldbe battling harpists but she wouldgladly trade her flutes for harps.I want to…

    Lou Faber

  • SOULMATE

    He had been lonelyfor as long as he could rememberalways wishing for loveor a relationship he could call love.That emotional emptiness hadbecome crushing and he knewhe had tried every possible option:church groups, singles events and bars,and countless dating sites and apps.He read that some like him,had turned to AI to createwhat his life was lacking.He…

    Lou Faber

  • NAME THAT

    It should be daunting, sittingin a waiting area in a gownthat is open in the back, the roomlike most all in such officesmore refrigerator than lounge.She smile and says “It’s your turn,we’ll do one, take another patientand then the other. Is that okay?”A nice question but it isn’t likeI have any real choice.The MRI tube…

    Lou Faber