This story brought me to tears, Justin. It is truly one of your very best. Today is John's and my fifty-second anniversary, and thank goodness we are still sitting on the porch (deck!) together. I LOVED this one. You have to publish it. Also, happy birthday to your mom!!
Happy Anniversary to you and John! I hope you both had a wonderful day and had a chance to do something fun. Thanks so much regarding the story, Andrea. Maybe one of these days I’ll send it somewhere!
What a touching story of loss and the difficulty of moving-on from grief. The overgrown garden and the unfinished house painting...the rollers "Hard as tombstones," all serve to show how his life suddenly stopped. Thank you for the glimmer of hope for Don at the end. Hope he can move on.
You're a great storyteller Justin. Happy 4th to you and your family!
Beautiful and touching, Justin. I love that you shared your inspiration for writing this one. I've been very uninspired lately, and this gave me a nudge to keep looking for my next story and to trust that it's out there. Thank you.
Thank you so much. It’s out there, Meg! Sometimes those moments arrive when we least expect them. Here...let me throw some good vibes out into the universe for you...let’s see what happens. You’ll be out and about one day not even thinking about your writing and it’ll happen. A story idea will emerge!
By the way, you could totally expand on that “fifty” you wrote at our last fire. That was a hell of a story!
Beautiful story! I love how you were inspired by the man in the garage from your ride. There are so many stories out there waiting for someone to uncover them!
Thank you, Jason! I love when stories are born in this fashion. Most of my fiction is a melding of ideas, experiences, and random thoughts, but this particular piece was largely driven from the single experience.
Jul 3, 2023·edited Jul 3, 2023Liked by Justin Deming
A fine story, masterfully written. He was living only a half-life after losing his wife in such a pointless manner. This incident showed hIm he was still needed, still able to contribute. I think he should leave his garage door open and hang up a sign "FREE BIKE REPAIR". This story was engaging, Justin, one of your best.
Thank you so much, Sharron! I’m really happy you liked it. I love the idea of him opening a bike repair shop out of his garage. I can see it happening in his future. Maybe he could even charge his customers moving forward. 😄
Oh, Justin. This one brought me to tears. Good job and thanks for writing. I dream of a house with a porch, but after reading this, with violence changing our world, I’m not sure anymore. Maybe if I lived in the boonies I might be safe? I sure hope it doesn’t come to that. Happy 4th my friend!
I fully, sincerely, deeply love, welcome and hold gently inside me, your stories! I would love to say damn your stories are beautiful but I probably should not use damn. After all I am an elder and aren’t I suppose to know better. Oh the hell with it because damn I love your stories! So grateful to find your words here
Haha! I accept your response of “damn” - I take it as a huge compliment! Thank you so very much for being here, Alixandra, and for reading my stories. I’m beyond grateful for your kind words and support.
That was a great story Justin. The way you write brings a picture to every word. And why does it seem like it takes a terrible incident to bring people together? Very touching too.
This story brought me to tears, Justin. It is truly one of your very best. Today is John's and my fifty-second anniversary, and thank goodness we are still sitting on the porch (deck!) together. I LOVED this one. You have to publish it. Also, happy birthday to your mom!!
Happy Anniversary to you and John! I hope you both had a wonderful day and had a chance to do something fun. Thanks so much regarding the story, Andrea. Maybe one of these days I’ll send it somewhere!
Thanks for sharing such a great story on my birthday!! So proud of you!! Keep writing and following your dreams.!! Love ya!!
Thanks, Mom. Love you too! 😊
What a touching story of loss and the difficulty of moving-on from grief. The overgrown garden and the unfinished house painting...the rollers "Hard as tombstones," all serve to show how his life suddenly stopped. Thank you for the glimmer of hope for Don at the end. Hope he can move on.
You're a great storyteller Justin. Happy 4th to you and your family!
Thank you very much for reading and for the kind words, Jim. It means a lot!
I hope Don can, too. Something tells me he will have more good than bad days. I think he rounded a difficult corner.
Happy 4th to you and yours as well!
A real gem, Justin.
You should keep at this writing thing. 🤣
Thank you, Mark. Haha, that’s the plan! 😄
Beautiful and touching, Justin. I love that you shared your inspiration for writing this one. I've been very uninspired lately, and this gave me a nudge to keep looking for my next story and to trust that it's out there. Thank you.
And happy 4th to you!
Looking forward to the fire.
Thank you so much. It’s out there, Meg! Sometimes those moments arrive when we least expect them. Here...let me throw some good vibes out into the universe for you...let’s see what happens. You’ll be out and about one day not even thinking about your writing and it’ll happen. A story idea will emerge!
By the way, you could totally expand on that “fifty” you wrote at our last fire. That was a hell of a story!
See you at the fire! 🔥
Beautiful story! I love how you were inspired by the man in the garage from your ride. There are so many stories out there waiting for someone to uncover them!
Thank you, Jason! I love when stories are born in this fashion. Most of my fiction is a melding of ideas, experiences, and random thoughts, but this particular piece was largely driven from the single experience.
A fine story, masterfully written. He was living only a half-life after losing his wife in such a pointless manner. This incident showed hIm he was still needed, still able to contribute. I think he should leave his garage door open and hang up a sign "FREE BIKE REPAIR". This story was engaging, Justin, one of your best.
Thank you so much, Sharron! I’m really happy you liked it. I love the idea of him opening a bike repair shop out of his garage. I can see it happening in his future. Maybe he could even charge his customers moving forward. 😄
Oh, Justin. This one brought me to tears. Good job and thanks for writing. I dream of a house with a porch, but after reading this, with violence changing our world, I’m not sure anymore. Maybe if I lived in the boonies I might be safe? I sure hope it doesn’t come to that. Happy 4th my friend!
Happy 4th, Kim! Thank you very much for reading. Though times are grim and challenging, there are still far more good people in the world than bad.
I hope you get your porch someday. 😀
I really hope you’re right! If you listen to the news too much, it feels hopeless!
The delicateness of life; so very moving Justin. You touched so many vulnerabilities here. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for reading!
That’s a lovely story, Justin. Hope you enjoy a nice long weekend!
Thank you, Geoffrey. You as well!
Excellent story loved how you wove all of the bits into such a touching tale about a lonely man.
Thanks so much, Scott!
I fully, sincerely, deeply love, welcome and hold gently inside me, your stories! I would love to say damn your stories are beautiful but I probably should not use damn. After all I am an elder and aren’t I suppose to know better. Oh the hell with it because damn I love your stories! So grateful to find your words here
Haha! I accept your response of “damn” - I take it as a huge compliment! Thank you so very much for being here, Alixandra, and for reading my stories. I’m beyond grateful for your kind words and support.
Very sweet and nicely controlled - it would have been very easy to let this one get too saccharine but you judged it very nicely
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment, Nibbins. I appreciate you reading my story!
You write about loss with so much feeling. I'm tearing up over here! Thanks for the reminder of how precious life is.
Aw, thank you so much, Claire!
That was a great story Justin. The way you write brings a picture to every word. And why does it seem like it takes a terrible incident to bring people together? Very touching too.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Pennie. I’m really happy it resonated with you!
It's my pleasure.
you have a light feather as we say :) meaning pretty good one - style of writing :)
Thank you, Hannah!