THE GUMDROP SAINT
By John Thomas Tuft
The day dawned gray and cold, its lazy light like an old tom cat creeping out from under the bushes demanding to be fed before he goes to sleep off his nighttime exploits. Cleo stepped out onto the back porch, pulling her robe…
LOST AND FOUND
BY John Thomas Tuft
And the word went out to all corners of the known world…Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, local television, podcasters, satellite radio, and cell phone alerts that Fred and Mabel Tutwiler were missing. They started driving from Pittsburgh at 8am that morning and gave themselves ten…
HEART CASTLE
BY John Thomas Tuft
Janey and Peanut snuck down the darkened street, taking care not to step on any cracks lest their mothers suffer irreparable harm to their backs. When you are ten you still don’t want to take any chances on the suspected vagaries of superstition or…
OLD LAME SIGN
By John Thomas Tuft
“Christians think of themselves as the one good cult in all the world.” The speaker paused, thoughtful. “When really what it is about is seeing the beauty in those who are broken. And the wonder to be found in the healing of the…
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
By John Thomas Tuft
I steered the Ford F250 4x4 through the streets of Bedford, Virginia. Snow started falling mid afternoon and now as the light fades I steer past the courthouse, more lawyers’ offices than you could shake a stick at, and enough churches for…
BENDING NEAR THE EARTH
By John Thomas Tuft
Mary and Joe were having a miracle baby. At the age of 30, Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer. Treatment involved a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Despite all of that, at age 33, one day on the exam…
I NEVER DANCED
By John Thomas Tuft
The stage is darkened, the floodlights turned low
Only the ghost light burns to welcome spirits recluse
Barely breathing I steal across the hardwood now
But I never danced can no longer be my excuse.
I reach the center mark as my heart…
A BILL AND BOB CHRISTMAS
By John Thomas Tuft
The origins of the legend of Bill and Bob are buried deep in the minds of the children who lived through it. From deep in the bowels of a simple carriage house apartment on the North Side of Pittsburgh in the…
THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
By John Thomas Tuft
The city is blanketed beneath the darkness of night
And the graveyard of the alleyways shelter those who don’t belong
While in the shadows, pilgrims shuffle toward a nativity
That inspires no singing, yet carries a sad, hopeful song.
Joe the crackhead…
A CHRISTMAS TOKSA
BY John Thomas Tuft
Branch Simms met the lovely Melody while they were in college. Halfway through, Branch’s father passed away and Branch had to leave school and take over his father’s service station. Melody became a teacher and they soon married. In a couple of years…
