Doug Bybee

Henry Rose is a man full of charity, kindness, and even temper; he can’t recall ever thinking ill of anyone, and he’s never been angry. Life is good, always has been, and through a combination of hard work and good luck he’s been able to retire at age 52 and immediately start volunteering his time […]

Brad Dood (pronounced “dude”) settled into a smirk. “Right place! Right time! Right stuff! No one more deserving,” he thought. “I’ve paid my dues!” Humiliating dues for someone so talented; he’d spent four months in this godforsaken place, just so he could get his foot in the sportswriting door. He’d even suffered a degrading day […]

John awoke to searing pain, running from behind both eyes to the middle of his forehead: a migraine triangle. He pressed his palms hard against both temples, went to the bathroom, turned the shower to very cold, and stuck his head under the frigid water. When the pain subsided some, he stumbled toward the kitchen […]

Yanks (“American”) Avatar (“embodiment of a concept”) is, by definition, the essence of American thought, the quintessential American. Were it not so, he’d have a different name. Here is his story. Yanks worked for 50 years, and he labored well. He took pride in doing his jobs as best he could. He’s retired now; the […]

Eleven million people play online poker; 10,999,999 of ’em win, usually $2,000 each. No doubt you know one of the 10,999,999 — Uncle Bob’s strange friend who wears a topcoat in the summer, the nerdy college kid down the street, the librarian with the darting eyes. The only problem these folks have is how to […]

Harry Jacobs watched from his window as the February snow drifted in his neighbor’s driveway, most of it under the basketball backboard bolted to the roof over the garage door. He watched an easy hour’s worth before he remembered that it was clinic day. “Best call the taxi,” he thought, “get there a little early […]

He was not from here; he was from there. New places made him apprehensive, but it seemed friendly here. The sign outside the building read “Welcome to the Medical Center Parking Ramp.” He’d never been welcomed to a parking ramp before — a comforting start. The parking ramp was full. He joined the circling cars, […]

The note on Tommie “Snorts” Sullivan’s Christmas card, saying that Sister Mary Serene had recently passed to her reward, surprised me only in that she decided to call it quits after 101 years. She could have lived forever, if so inclined — she was magic. Most of my early memories have blurred centers and chipped […]

Before the Internet, before the search engines, Tullius Menard was a person of substantial worth, for he’d memorized most all the facts. When he was young, Tullius decided to earn his way in life by knowing all the data — a considerable task indeed. So he wasted no time with reasoning or understanding or appreciating […]

     They held no power      They did not know how      Perhaps they’ll hold some now Born in the late 1930s and early ’40s, wedged in between the Greatest Generation and the baby boomers, they are few — and Ike Eisenhower lied to ’em. Ike went on TV in 1960 and […]

I write stories? Stuff? Sometimes kind folks read the stories and e-mail me. The e-mail is almost always of this nature: “I enjoyed your story. Interesting. Different. Made me laugh [or think, or smile] — but I’m not quite sure what it’s about. What does it mean?” My almost-always reply is: “Thank you. Glad you […]

Summer 1959. I’ll refine my first-baseman skills here at the semipro level, forget college, and go straight to the major leagues. The old, grizzled, arthritic pitcher throws some chin music. I jump cat-quick out of the way, trip, and fall on my back, arms and legs kickin’ like an upside-down dung beetle. The ball breaks […]