Author: Joseph

(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 8: Let’s Go To The Dispo! is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

Sign In The Window

Elston tapped the steering wheel with his knuckle, keeping time along with the James McMurtry song coming out of the hexagonal speakers in the Jeep. He was waiting for the dispensary to open this morning and he was a little agitated that they hadn’t turned the open sign light on yet. He had a lot to

do and he was ready to get on with it.

“You got a light buddy?” the question came from beyond his peripheral Continue reading “A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 8: Let’s Go To The Dispo!”

(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 7: End Of The Line is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

Coming To Terms

Elston had been dreading this day for years. Not in the same way he dreaded work or was apprehensive about other responsibilities he’d neglected, just a glitch in his head that whispered a foreboding, melancholy song of the

unknown as he rolled the file wheel on his Cygnus lighter, igniting Continue reading “A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 7: End Of The Line”

(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 6: Searching In The Wild is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

Every Step You Take

Elston had been about as patient as he could imagine any man being in his current situation. The late morning sun was beating down through the windshield and the Jeep’s air conditioning was having a terrible time

catching up. He’d been on the road this morning since well before the sun Continue reading “A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 6: Searching In The Wild”

(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 5: The Place To Be is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

Morning Has Broken

The sun broke in splintered array through the wooded background of the still lake that stretched out before him. This was the stuff, the place that Elston longed to be were it not for the overwhelming

responsibilities that demanded his time. A little better planning and this could’ve been his life.

Instead his days were filled with the whirring of machinery: laithes and mills, saws and drills. Coolant soaked boots traipsing through curly metal Continue reading “A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 5: The Place To Be”

(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 4: Coursing Through The Night is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

Hello Darkness

The night was no stranger to Elston, in fact it might be his oldest friend or perhaps companion was a better term. Through long sleepless nights when the dark haze enveloped though slumber had betrayed him to his own

frivolous frolicking through the dusking hinterlands the music played between his ears like some searching, grasping Simon & Garfunkel tune.

The night used to be the playground of his demons, the sort of companion his parents would’ve said was a bad influence for sure. There were sounds of Continue reading “A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 4: Coursing Through The Night”

(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 3: The Morning We Get is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

Welcoming The Morning We Get

Shawn had been staring out that window for days. He thought about feeling sorry for himself once but then thought better of it. The rain just kept

falling, gathering at spots in the top of the frame and running in currents down the side like tiny, rushing rivers, bending, flowing, being blown to Continue reading “A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 3: The Morning We Get”

(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 2: Making Sense Of Old Habitsis a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

A Shaking, Idle Hand

The hand moves toward an illegitimate task even when the mind remains steadfast, resolute in the formation of new habits but knowing for certain

that old ones are forever broken. We like to remain in the dark when we can, heads buried and Elston was no different but these were not those kind of Continue reading “A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 2: Making Sense Of Old Habits”

(Degrees Of Legality: A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)

Orientation To A New Reality

“Hey, man, that’s illegal you know! You can’t do that here.” Elston had heard this all before but things were supposed to be different now. We had voted on it, there had been an election after all.

Great hope accompanied the signature petition drives that were central to the movement and forefront in most of our minds as this new reality took shape. You could feel the tide changing but experience told me to be wary as the rug had been snatched from beneath us more than once in the past. Little did we realize it would Continue reading “Degrees Of Legality: A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story”

(A Pyrophoric Poem from DependableFlame)

A Morning’s Path Toward Acquiring Light(The Petrol Kind, Of Course)

I reached and patted my left chest pocket repeatedly with the palm of my right hand, fingers fondling but finding no purchase on, nor shape thereof a light. Blindly agitated as I surveyed them all, each in the pants, the other chest, the many pockets empty in my coat.

Can I please get my lighter back? The sort of oversight that had me questioning not only my morning routine but every decision that Continue reading “Can I Please Get My Lighter Back?”