Dave's Fiction Warehouse

Cottonwoods along the Yellowstone on the day in question I made a lot of memories during my recent sojourn in Montana. I climbed a couple of mountains, had a couple of longish alpine hikes, enjoyed a few sunlit days on the shore of Flathead Lake. I also canoed a stretch of the Yellowstone River near Springdale, which is where I almost drowned. I’m not kidding. On August 31, I came pretty close to shuffling off to Buffalo. They say close only counts in horseshoes, but weeks later I still think about it at night. I still look at the clothes I was wearing that day and imagine them as the clothes of a dead man. It’s the only time in my life where I really thought it was over. The long version: Near the end of the float, my brother Ed and I encountered a bit of rough water. As a result of some miscommunication on the paddling, the canoe turned sideways in some standing waves and swamped. At the moment, I wasn’t that worried about it. I’ve tipped over canoes quite a few times, and the worst ...

Disco Don I try to remain interested in politics. After all, I’m technically one of those smiling, engaged seniors as seen on TV, pedaling madly through the commercials for Viagra and Lipitor. I’m active, yes, active as hell and way too young to be jaded by the field of presidential contenders for 2012. Then Donald Trump starts dominating the airwaves and I realize it’s all just a big freaking joke. Inevitably, all of America has become a reality show and we’re powerless to change the channel. There were times when Sarah Palin was the joke. Now Donald Trump comes along and makes her look like Mahatma Gandhi. The man and his peculiar hair are everywhere. To hear Donald Trump tell it, there is nothing Donald Trump doesn’t know. He has looked into every aspect of every problem and has formulated solutions to those problems. On China, for example: “They don’t have the cards. We have the cards.” On the economy: “What do they know, the economists? Most of them are not very smart.” There is ...