Jeff Meade

“Relishing the Pain” by Jeff Meade

Lucy dreaded the meeting with her father, detective extraordinaire Jimmy Daleson. Madame Crezan had promised that it would spin her witchcraft into new directions, as meeting Detective Daleson would be an attractive opportunity to overcome past demons. Lucy had prepared herself for the event both mentally and spiritually, but the shock of seeing him in the frat house’s haunted house rattled her to the core. Lucy wrestled with the notion that her father was to blame for mother’s passing. He had only been doing his job sleuthing criminals when...

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“Until We Meet Again” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #275

An eerie wind blew through the black police cruiser’s cracked windows, swirling wisps of Detective Jimmy Daleson’s Camel Straight out into the moonlight. The street lamp just down the road cast spooky shadows across the sidewalk, leaving plenty of dark spaces for the night’s denizens to slink into.  Halloween stakeouts always posed challenges for detectives, sleuthing for their mark amongst costumed revelers. “Halloween is busy tonight. Seems like the crowds are thicker than last year,” his partner Officer Dominguez remarked, eyeballing...

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“Harleys and Highways” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #274

The hardest part of Mom’s passing was going through all the old family albums with my younger sister Jenny and deciding how to divvy up the photo collection. Ten years and a different father lessened the task somewhat, but she wanted some of the pictures of our shared step-brother, Noel. Most of the pictures predated her and featured both Noel and I living the dream of Colorado Mountain Boys. Our ten-acre horse ranch was on the side of Sugarloaf Mountain, just outside Boulder. The rustic log cabin and steep, wooded terrain we called home are...

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“Yes, Demons Do Exist” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #272

Yes, Demons Do ExistI watched the safari truck jostle along the rough dirt track, weaving around mud holes and low hanging acacia branches. Dusk had fallen moments before, and the family hanging out of the pop-up roof squinted fervently through the gloom to spot the elusive leopard. What they spotted instead was me, and I had timed this perfectly.“Dad, did you see that?” I heard the youngest girl squeal, wagging her finger towards the rear of the vehicle. The family had been calling her Quincy. Her older sister was Berkeley, and the other fa...

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“Mzungu Dreams” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #271

Mzungu Dreams The gentle wind whistling through the savannah grass was punctuated only by the grunting of rutting impala. Young bucks fought over who got to lead the small harem of does. They’d do this all day, and the leadership, or rather ownership, of the herd changed hands every hour. Such is the nature of life in Uganda’s Lake Mburo safari park.   “Look, Quincy! I made the Buffalo!” Meren, our local Bugandan safari guide, proudly displayed her clay buffalo skull to my seven year old. They had torn apart a termite mound and use...

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“Cooking up a Successful Restaurant: A Recipe for Success” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #270

Recipe OverviewStart out with dreams. Restaurants are based on this magical ingredient. Restaurants are not created just to sell tasty delicacies, but rather to showcase desires, ambitions, and personal fancy. They are selfish in that way, as only the creator truly understands the artistry they put into their work.  So start with a dream. Grab a sheet of paper and sketch out what the kitchen would look like. Then spend countless hours pondering whether the crispy Po’Boy should have jerk seasoning or traditional blackening spice. It’s al...

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“I don't find your sick sense of humor amusing...” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #266

Chloro Phil was in big trouble. He had traveled south from his adopted community at Chama in search of someone named “Maxwell.” The boy, still unidentified as far as Phil knew, was, as far as Phil knew, still in a coma. The boy had whimpered “Maxwell needs help,” and Chama’s Council of Elders had decided to send Phil to follow the scrap of paper the boy had in his pocket. This scrap of paper had a line drawn on it, like a map, with three X’s marking locations. One of the X’s was circled, and Phil had discovered that it was an abandoned campg...

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“Maxwell Needs Help...” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #265

A month had past since Chloro Phil had brought home the survivors. The small group had suffered tremendously at the hands of the wasteland raiders, but their robust recovery gave everyone in Chama hope for the future. Optimism not just for the survivors but for survival of humanity in general. Chama may have been a small community, but it was strong and healthy. A new problem had arisen though. The Elders’ Council emergency meeting had failed to settle upon a course of action regarding a young boy who had wandered out of the wastes. He was e...

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“Sprouting a New Superhero: Chloro Phil” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #263

Journal Entry 236: Winter’s Day, 1347 I think that will do it. The last injection should be the correct formula to introduce plant cells into the human body. Hopefully this will allow me to use the infernal sun’s power as a food source to survive in this accursed winter wasteland. Journal Entry 237: Winter’s Day, 1353 It’s been almost a week, and I’ve been terribly sick. I can definitely tell that the bio serum I injected myself with is working. It’s changing my very genetic structure. I’ve noticed that my eyes are turning yellow, and my ski...

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“Have Another Smoke...” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #262

“Mom, I can’t believe you’re blaming me for today’s outburst. Why is it so hard for you to realize that your mom just despises me?” Ever since we had kids, The Wife and I refer to ourselves as "Mom" and "Dad."“Listen, Dad, you and her have never gotten along since Christmas Break in South Africa. You know she’s getting older, so why do you have to needle her?”“I know she’s your mom, and I understand that you’d be defensive. But all I did was suggest that I could make a pizza for the kids. You know they won’t get close enough to her boiled fi...

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“The True Cost of Arrogance” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #261

The True Cost of ArroganceJon Benêt Ramsey showed up in the news again, just in time for New Years. She’s the 6-year old Beauty Queen found raped and strangled in her parent’s basement on Christmas Day. The event happened in 1997, but she’s still making headlines. The case was sensational, mixing greedy parents with botched police work and even shoddier prosecutions. It’s the Christmas Story you want to ignore, but seemingly can’t get away from.The news this time around mentioned thousands of documents recently released that may shed light o...

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“Is Memory Lane Always This Bumpy?” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #260

I was relaxing on the couch a few years ago when my phone buzzed unexpectedly. Facebook Messenger popped up, with a message from a girl I hadn’t heard from in two decades. I was never all that close with her, but her step-sister was the first love of my life. At the time, I thought she’d be my only love. The one I lived for. What a nightmare that turned out to be. I was so taken aback from seeing this unforeseen ping that my heart leapt into my throat. Why was I so nervous? There could only be one reason she was contacting me: something to d...

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“The Hero of Plastic Trash” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #260

The Hero of Plastic Trash“Dad, this has been a great day!”"Oh yeah, Berkeley? What made it so great?” “I’ve decided I love mini golf! I don’t remember doing this before, and you can’t do it where we live.”“True dat. Mini golf doesn’t exist in Uganda.” It was really nice to see my 11 year old engaged in something other than screens. A day at the Fun N’ Stuff is also just a healthy blast of American culture for a young tween diplomat.“I’ve had a good time too, Dad. Can we do the boats again?” 6 year old Quincy just couldn’t get enough of ...

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“A Deserved Ghosting” by Jeff Meade

Submitted to Contest #259

A Deserved Ghosting I had taken it a little too far. I always take it a little too far! And this time, I lost a potentially awesome connection with an old flame. But every fire dies out eventually. Sometimes they were never even lit. In the matter of just a few days, I both lit a flame and extinguished it.  One lazy Saturday afternoon, I told my 9th grade crush that I had, well…a crush. She was flattered by that, and we struck up an interesting conversation. But then my ADHD tendencies took over and I got carried away with excitement an...

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