Charles Anderson Books

Thanks to my own publishing willpower and to Amazon.com’s Create Space I went ahead and published my first chapbook, “Cents and Chimpsibility”. My friend Stace Johnson says its a mashup of Jane Austen and space chimps. He right, and it’s one of those stories that is hard to classify but I think is enjoyable to read. The official release date is September 12th, but no one will complain if you get yours early. Before I forget, there’s a Kindle version for .99 cents and eventually there will a iPhone app also.

Holding Cents and Chimpsibility

Work has kept me busy, and I haven’t had a chance to update things. Training for the Denver Marathon in October so I have spent many hours on the road. Here is a shot by Sherry last weekend of me trying out a new wet-suit. Can’t wait for the weekend so I can try it again.

Trying out a new wet-suit

This is the second story in the Guest Author’s spot, and it is one by Denise E. Dora. I have know Denise for a few years, and I hope you enjoy this story set in an asylum, “View From The Floor.”

Denise E. Dora’s Bio

Grew up in Monongahela, Pa., moved to Denver, Colorado in 1985. Attended several colleges, graduated Metro State College in Denver. Besides writing, indulgences include reading, theatre, gardening, herbal medicine, doll collecting, Egyptology, Irish/Celtic studies, Hindi films and language, and 3 small grandchildren.

Denise can be contacted at: taraluna7@aol.com

VIEW FROM THE FLOOR
By Denise E. Dora

It’s raining outside. Hard. I can hear it against the roof. It sounds like bullets. Loud. Hard. Maybe it’s hail. I don’t know.

I’m sitting on the floor. In the hallway. The roof is leaking in my room. Because of the rain. I don’t like water. They told me to sit in the hall until it stops and then they will clean my room. And I can go back in. So, I’m sitting on the floor, in the hall. Listening to the rain.

People do funny things when it rains. The gravity in the rain pulls out their emotions.

Alma cries when it rains. She wanders up and down the hall and cries, softly. She’s very old and I don’t think she knows where she is. She’s very quiet. Except when it rains. Then she cries.

Cedric gets very angry. He stomps and yells. Once, they had to take him away. Now, they just lock the door to his room.

I’m sitting on the floor. Listening to the rain and watching the people. They are walking up and down the hall in that shuffling motion that crazy people do.

Slippers make a different sound than shoes do on the tiles. Slippers scrape and shoes plunk. Scrape, scrape, scrape, plunk, plunk, plunk. But it doesn’t shut out the sound of the rain.

I’m only wearing one shoe. I guess the other one is in my room. But I can’t go in there because it’s raining in my room. My foot is cold. Maybe if I take the sock off one of my hands and put it on my foot, it won’t be so cold. There, that’s better. I hope no one notices that my sock is on my foot and not on my hand.

Nurse Nat and Doctor Pat are walking down the hall. They are both fat. Nurse Nat is dark and Doctor Pat is light. They laugh a lot and talk about the people and then laugh some more. I don’t like them. Nurse Nat pretends to be your friend and asks you lots of questions and then goes and tells Doctor Pat. And she gives you more pills.

Doctor Pat thinks she’s God. But I don’t think so. God wouldn’t work here.

It’s raining even harder. And it’s thundering and lightning. I bet my room is flooded, but I can’t go in there.

I tuck my foot under me so they can’t see the sock on my foot. And I put my hands behind my back so they can’t see them.

Nurse Nat and Doctor Pat stop in front of me and I can hear them talking to me or at me or something. I don’t answer. Maybe they’ll go away. Nurse Nat sits down beside me and talks louder. Her voice sounds like Minnie Mouse. I hate it when she touches me. It’s soo condescending. I wish she would go away. Maybe if I scream at her, or push her. But I don’t. I just stare at the floor. She smiles and calls me sweetie or something then gets up and the two of them walk away, laughing.

I wish I had my shoe. It’s black with silver sparkles. Like the stars. I haven’t seen the stars in a long time. But I know that they’re still up there in the sky, behind the rain.

Or-Der-Lees. That’s what they call themselves. They wear white. There are two of them and they are pushing buckets by the mop handles. Maybe they are coming to clean my room. But it is still raining. It won’t help. They walk by me and don’t look at me.

There is a large window at the end of the hall. It’s very dark outside. Almost like night. There is a big flash of lightning and a crash of thunder. The lights flicker and I hear someone scream. But someone is always screaming, so it doesn’t matter. I’m not afraid of the lightning or the thunder. Or even the rain. It’s the water I don’t like. The water in my room. The water that probably made my black shoe all wet.

It’s dinner time. The big cart with the food comes down the hall. Alma and Cedric and all the others are lead back to their rooms. I can’t go back in my room. No matter what they say. The lady with the net on her hair says things that make no sense. She opens the door to my room and I can tell that she wants me to go in. But I can’t go in there. It’s wet. I’m not stupid. I know it’s wet and I can’t go in. So she sets a tray of food on the floor beside me. Go away!

I look at the tray, but I can’t eat. You can’t eat off the floor. It’s dirty. I push the tray away from me. I don’t like it so close.

I lean my head back against the wall. I can hear the shuffling of feet. The after dinner shuffle up and down the hall. No plunking or scraping, only shuffling. It is not raining as hard. Thunder rumbles in the distance. But it is still dark. And it gets darker.

Someone is touching me. Fingers on my shoulder. Calling my name. I don’t want to open my eyes. They say the rain has stopped. And my room is clean. They took away all the water. It’s OK to go back in. I can’t move my legs. My knees hurt. Someone helps me up. I shuffle into my room. Someone pushes a pill between my lips and tells me to swallow. I do. I lay down on my bed. They put a blanket over me. I hear the click of the light switch. I open my eyes to the darkness. I am still wearing one shoe.

©2009 by Denise E. Dora