Chip Kirkpatrick

“Do I Know You?” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Submitted to Contest #271

DO I KNOW YOU? “No! No! No!” I pounded the steering wheel of my car in anger and frustration. It was Friday afternoon and nothing was going right.  I had recently been promoted in my job and my company had a training facility on this side of the city, an area I was not familiar with. This was a high crime area and I avoided coming here unless I had to. I had a list of required classes to take in my first three months and I had attended one today. Normally Friday classes let out early because there is a toll bridge nearby, whic...

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“ACCEPTANCE” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Submitted to Contest #255

ACCEPTANCE I packed my lunch and two beers in the ice chest on my twenty foot Sears aluminum boat. Then I loaded my favorite Penn rod and reel and my tackle box. I went back into the house and collected my wallet, checkbook and keys before taking Sarah into my arms and hugging her tightly. I looked into her eyes and said, “Old girl, you are still the love of my life. Don’t you ever forget that!”   She laughed and brushed the gray hair from her eyes and said, “After fifty-three years, I’m not likely to forget!” Then I tenderly kisse...

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“LOST!” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Submitted to Contest #249

LOST! Where the hell are we? I’m praying like I’ve never prayed before. I’m lost and scared practically out of my mind. I’ve been afraid before. There were the middle of the night firefights in ‘Nam. Especially the times we were overrun and the fighting was hand-to-hand. Nothing between me and Death but my K-BAR knife and my fists. Or the time our chopper went down, dumping us in the shark infested waters of the Atlantic.Ocean. But then I was only afraid for myself and the men under my command. Now I’m frightened for my wife a...

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“The Selfie That Will Not Die!” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Submitted to Contest #244

The Selfie That Will Not Die! He propped the old man’s corpse into an upright position on the couch. The hole in his forehead lined up nicely with the large splotch of blood and brains on the wall behind him. The man’s wife insisted on proof of his demise and a photo should serve nicely. But on a whim, he sat beside the body and threw his right arm around the man’s shoulder and propped the head upward so the lifeless eyes stared into the  camera on his phone. He laughed as he snapped a string of selfies. He grinned as he reviewed the pi...

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“In the Land of the Blind” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Submitted to Contest #232

IN THE LAND OF THE BLIND TAP! Tap-Tap! Tap! “In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is King!” That proverb, written in 1500 by Erasmus, keeps running through my mind. I don’t have one good eye, but two very poor eyes. I’ve suffered with near-sightedness, cataracts and macular degeneration for all of my life! For decades my vision has been somewhere between being almost able to drive a car  and needing a dog and white cane! Tap! Tap! I can’t resist smiling. Once I was a freak. The kid and later the man with all of the vision ...

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“FIRST IMPRESSIONS” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Submitted to Contest #225

FIRST IMPRESSIONS I’ve always heard you only get one chance to make a first impression. Apparently that’s not true.  I had just arrived in Middleburg. Fresh out of the Army, I was eager to re-enter civilian life.  I got off of the bus and hoisted my duffle bag over my shoulder and started walking towards the motel I spied two blocks away. I had a job interview lined up for tomorrow and I was eager to get familiar with the town that may be my new home.  Middleburg was your typical small town, just like the one I grew up i...

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“Hunger Pangs” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Hunger Pangs Somebody is shaking my shoulder and I wake up to see a pale, thin faced young man peering down at me. His thin, lank, dish water blond hair keeps slipping into his face and he pushes  it back over his ears but it refuses to stay in place. Serious looking blue eyes gaze at me through the thick lenses of his heavy, black framed glasses.  My head is swimming and I hear him ask, “Are you hungry? I’m about to have some dinner. There’s plenty!” It’s as if he’s in a tunnel and his voice seems to echo. My eyes don’t want t...

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