150 words

The Death of Sears

May 8, 2018 By Lars Peterson in 150 Words Tags: short fiction, 150 words, sears, refrigerator

Years ago my dad bought a refrigerator for like $800 and paid for it with a check and then a couple months later I overheard him complaining to my stepmother that that goddamned check hadn’t cleared yet and it was screwing up his checkbook. This went on for months until he finally called the bank who told him to call the Sears and they told him they didn’t have any record of that transaction whatsoever. “Well now what am I supposed to do?” he said. “Enjoy your free refrigerator.” Which he did, but only because he kept that $800 on [Read More]

Old Man’s Day at the Park

August 26, 2014 By Lars Peterson in 150 Words Tags: short fiction, 150 words, hundred-fifty, Apa

My wife’s grandfather was a Bracero from Mexico in the ’50s. He’s a tough and charming man, 94, lives alone with some paid help afternoons. Last month he got one of his grandkids’ kids a job at McDonalds. He told them they should hire the kid, he bought a McMuffin, and they hired Albert. Saturday he told us, in Spanish because English hasn’t pierced his skull in 60 years, about an afternoon he’d had at the park. He met a younger woman (60s), and soon she asked how old he was. “How old do you think?” “Maybe in your 80s?” “My 80s? Hah. If I were still in my [Read More]

Caller ID

July 20, 2013 By Lars Peterson in 150 Words Tags: fiction, zero to 150, 150 words, telephone, one-hun

Long, long before caller ID, my dad would answer the phone, “Hi! How are ya?” which never failed to flummox the caller. My brother and I followed his example and managed to keep it up for several weeks until one evening, when Dad was working the swing shift, the phone rang, and after asking our stepmother if I could answer, after all it was my turn, I picked up and blurted, “Hi! How are you?” “What?” It was Dad. “How did? Goddammit, put your Stepmother on.” After she was done with the call Katie our stepmother said, “Your Dad says [Read More]

Good Dog Bad Heart

May 24, 2013 By Lars Peterson in 150 Words Tags: fiction, short fiction, 150 words, terrier, heart, syncope

I have a good terrier with a weak heart. She’ll die early. She’s still young, just four, and her condition isn’t apparent unless she’s playing hard at fetch or chase the hose water. When it gets her, she stops, lies down, rolls over, breathes, and waits. It’s syncope — the light headedness you feel when you stand too fast. Her heart can’t keep pace with her legs and her lungs and eventually there isn’t enough blood to her brain. When she was a pup it would sneak up on her while she romped — Boom, and over she went. She’s [Read More]