December 2008, Vol. 7, Issue 12

Welcome back to the year-end issue of Truckin'.

1. The Last Christmas by Paul McGuire
I adore the way you look. But your mother disapproves. It's that black shoe polish you have on your lips. When I was your age, the only people who dressed like that were the whores who stood on corners down in the Mission.... More

2. I Remember Christmas by May B. Yesno
I looked down at my cup, lifted a hand to the waitress for another coffee and started looking around the joint, noting the yellow brown walls a glass could stick to, if you placed a glass on it, and listened to the Christmas music being piped in... More

3. American Half-Breed by David Peterson
It is bitter cold and everywhere around me is ice and dirty snow. At my side is one of my prized possessions, an American Standard Fender Precision Bass Guitar. I don't want to do what I'm about to do, but I've run out of options. I open the pawn shop door and feel a blast of heat and the smell of tobacco smoke and desperation... More

4. Of All The Bars In NYC by Betty Underground
You know when you see someone and maybe it is the job you do or the frequency you travel to the same places, but you sort of recognize them and for some reason you can't put them in the context of where you are right then... More

5. Corner of Hopelessness by Paul McGuire
I have this odd fear that I'm going to get shanked by a gangbanger with a spork or mugged by one of the homeless people who live behind the dumpster and feast on half-eaten Jumbo Jacks and pieces of raggedly yellow leaves that they pass off as lettuce... More

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...

From the Editor's Laptop:

Thanks again for wasting your precious time with Truckin'. We have a special year-end issue with a couple of Christmas themed stories including a submission from David Peterson, who is making his Truckin' debut. Veteran writers Betty Underground and May B. Yesno returned with a couple of standouts. And I contributed two stories this issue; a piece of fiction I wrote about my neighborhood in L.A. and the other is a dramatic Christmas story about a dysfunctional family.

Truckin' needs your help with some grassroots promotion. Please tell your friends about your favorite Truckin' stories. The writers definitely appreciate your support, as do I. Spread the word on your blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and whatever social networking sites that you are addicted to.

Also, please let me know if anyone is interested in being added to the mailing list.

Thanks to the writers for writing for free. They expose their guts, blood, and soul to the universe. For that, I'm eternally grateful. The dedication to their art inspires me and I hope it inspires you too.

Be good,
McG

"It is difficult to keep quiet if you have nothing to do." - Arthur Schopenhauer