Premonitions 2021 (2020.12.21)
Here's how I'm guessing 2021 will go.
I'm mostly joking.
Mostly.

If the Fates Allow (2020.12.22)
I won't be home for Christmas, you can count on me.

Is This Forty? (2020.12.15)
I turn forty and one of my former students is shot dead. One thing did not cause the other.

Turning the Page (2020.12.06)
If Elliot Page has he/they pronouns, does that make me bisexual? Of course not, you fool! I am hardly wedded to my gender identity as it is.

Chanterelle (2020.11.28)
So, I have this imaginary girlfriend...

Pollyanna Faker (2020.11.10)
Pretending to be happy surely beat being honestly depressed.

Ode to Divorce (2020.11.09)
My mental illness tells me Amber is going to leave me. My mental illness might be an asshole. She should have a good day no matter.

The Magical Thinking Election (2020.10.29)
Please don't reelect Trump. Please.

Planned Spontaneity (2020.10.09)
So, I guess I'm just not going to live in Australia for a year because bedtimes are good?

Better Angels (2020.10.04)
Drugs helped save my mental health but turned Melissa's to terminal cancer.

Set on Fire (2020.09.13)
Kristina, Aaron and Amanda, and Amber (along with Robot, the Good Dog) endure a campfire meal prepared by me. I love being with my new friend group.

So Quite New (2020.09.11)
I will never be new in strange eyes.

This Party's Over (2020.09.05)
I have likely been the happiest I will ever be.

Friendship at a Distance (2020.08.21)
We try to maintain friendships from at least six feet away.

How to Be Unsatisfied in Lake George (2020.08.11)
I take a daytrip to Lake George with the Core Quackenbushes.

Campground (2020.08.02)
We practice camping by sleeping uncovered on wood.

Ambirthdaversary (2020.07.28)
We dare to have a birthday/anniversary party with a special guest.

Fiction 4 Dragons (2020.07.18)
Double Dragon Publishing closes and is acquired by a company that distributes, but does not really publish, books.
I will not be joining them in this endeavor.

The Luster of It (2020.06.17)
I have worked too hard to let myself be small.

Social Closeness (2020.06.07)
Aaron and Amanda invite us over for a careful barbecue.

Language of the Unheard (2020.06.02)
There is rioting, as maybe there must be.

Disparro (2020.05.25)
Sure, cry over a video game bird instead of 100K dead people.

The Strata of COVID (2020.05.20)
I return to work, though the point of my being there is small.

Masklessness (2020.05.11)
I become anxious around people not following precautions and more pessimistic that this will be easy.

Magical Thinking and Witchcraft (2020.04.29)
It's hard not to come off as psychotic when one believe they can summon spirits with herbs and rocks.

Before the Masked (2020.04.18)
Masks are mandated and we become ruder for it.

Springtime for COVID (2020.04.08)
It is spring, yet we are quarantined in New York.

Corona Breaks Reality (2020.03.27)
The world under a pandemic is growing too surreal.

Work in the Time of Corona (2020.03.20)
The country may be closing down, but the state feels teachers must be physically present in my facility.

COVID-911 (2020.03.16)
We are under a state of emergency. The country is closing down.

Corona (2020.03.11)
As COVID-19 worsens and more are infected, I am concerned what happens next.

Leap Day (2020.02.29)
Live music from a Magic Giant makes me feel cool.

Tea for Two (2020.02.16)
Having a tea party is lovely, but lovelier still with more place settings.

Another Pin in the Map (2020.02.01)
I am a depressed, absent-minded, two-headed calf.

Card Games (2020.01.28)
I hand my card to five people in social situations. Zero are receptive, but at least I tried.

Traditional to Self (2020.01.25)
My publisher is ceasing publication.

Early to Rise (2020.01.11)
A lack of effective communication leads to frustrations rather than to a concert.

Twenty-Twenty Vision (2020.01.01)
It is the Roaring Twenties, but ours and we don't know what that means yet.

Thomm Quackenbush is an author and teacher in the Hudson Valley. He has published four novels in his Night's Dream series (We Shadows, Danse Macabre, Artificial Gods, and Flies to Wanton Boys). He has sold jewelry in Victorian England, confused children as a mad scientist, filed away more books than anyone has ever read, and tried to inspire the learning disabled and gifted. He is capable of crossing one eye, raising one eyebrow, and once accidentally groped a ghost. When not writing, he can be found biking, hiking the Adirondacks, grazing on snacks at art openings, and keeping a straight face when listening to people tell him they are in touch with 164 species of interstellar beings. He likes when you comment.