Theme Week #1

Attention, Vignettologists! The Vignettology Team would like to announce our first ever Theme Week. The week starting April 26th will be Armageddon Week. We'll run pieces all week about the end of the world, a happy-go-lucky topic to kick off our this new motif. We'll be accepting submissions for your best paragraph about the Apocalypse (Michael Bay fans need not apply). These vignettes will run April 27th, April 29th and May 1st.

Thanks again to all those who have submitted vignettes in the past, and to those who haven't, what's keeping you? Get writing!

Zooey Zimmerman #1 - Fanny And Bill

Fanny and Bill laugh every time they talk. They laugh over coffee in their cramped apartment. They laugh about the funny things their cats do. Fanny paints her toe nails green and Bill laughs at her. Bill grows a beard and Fanny laughs at him. Their friends think the couple is always drunk and they are, in a way. They add quirkiness to their life every day, searching for something new to laugh about. A broken type writer in the back yard? Perfect. A book about tree houses? Better, somehow. They laugh about how their friends must hate them for being so damn happy.

Joshua Kirby #13 - The Murder Scene

The rookie cop was told not to stare, but wasn't sure why. He rode shotgun into the trailer park and saw a little person in handcuffs. He had seen little people before, so he wondered what the big deal was. He entered the murder scene trailer and gasped audibly. The victim had not only the gunshot wound he had heard about, but also lobster like claws where his hands should be. He saw the victim's kids sobbing into similar claws. The cop dashed out, straight into his superior officer. "Yeah, my first trip to Freak Town shook me up too. Better get used to it."

Kevin Haggerty #5 - Here Or There

Though the crimson striations snaked their way inexplicably toward the vacuous pools that were his pupils, his mind remained alert.  Time had frozen once more, as it did so often upon nightfall, and he know found himself lying in his bed staring at the darkness enveloping his consciousness.  The bare ceiling had become the screen for his thoughts to be projected out on.  The story didn’t make sense as scenes ended abruptly and the cast changed erratically.  But, the theme remained constant.  No matter the setting or players on this astral stage, his role was tragic yet mediocre.  Yelling out into the audience he demanded to speak to the director only to find the seats empty.  The stage was gone as well, and the ceiling was only that.  Awareness broke away as he slipped into a dreamless sleep.

Joshua Kirby #12 - Opening Day

Opening day was rainy, but that didn't dim his hopes. Baseball had arrived and it kicked out the cold, harsh winter. He thought briefly of the sport as a metaphor, but decided against it. That's been overplayed, he just wanted to watch the game. To lose himself in the stats. To annoy his girlfriend with constant updates, to look at box scores every morning in the paper, this is his heaven. Walks, RBI, WHIP, OPS. Abbreviations that mean nothing to anyone else. The season lasts exactly as long as the school year, and in a way, some things never change.

Kevin Haggerty #4 - Wars Within

The blank page was tormenting him.  It wasn’t that he lacked ideas or inspiration.  Writer’s block had never been an obstacle he couldn’t overcome.  The real issue at hand was the inactivity.  The virgin field of snow where he had bled the ink of his internal struggles so many times before was acting as a reminder to him.  It showed the stagnancy of his life.  Whether the page was filled or not, he would still be there, sitting in the chair wondering.  The blank page was an excuse.  He was tormenting himself.

Joshua Kirby #11 - Goodbye Bingo

All the clowns at the funeral had their sad faces painted on. Today they mourned their beloved friend and coworker, Bingo. A few people spoke, the mimes said nothing. They remembered all those wild parties in clown college, the time spent on the road, his love affair with the trapeze artist. Refreshments were served out of squirting flowers and poorly aimed seltzer bottles. As they left the parlor, all the clowns bid farewell, giving Bingo's nose one last honk goodbye. The service was well attended, but there were only four cars in the procession.