man Archives - Wordsmith Holler

Joann Jett Joined The Stage Band

By Michael Shawn Sommermeyer | December 20, 2016January 6, 2017 by Michael Shawn Sommermeyer

[aesop_image imgwidth=”825″ img=”https://wordsmithholler.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/jazz-1263988_1920.jpg” credit=”Pixabay” align=”left” lightbox=”on” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”] Behind the library, between the quad and the band room, the Stoners smoke packs of red Marlboro’s. For all practical purposes, this might as well be no man’s land. Only sand dirt seems to grow and the green soccer field starts 80 yards farther away. I imagine the area remained hidden before the school added the soccer field and a football arena. The area is the perfect…

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A Short Cut to the Dining Room

By Michael Shawn Sommermeyer | November 8, 2016November 21, 2018 by Michael Shawn Sommermeyer

The man stood by the glass door with a bag over his hand and he nodded his head back. Danny looked at him through the water gurgling up from the water fountain. He swallowed another mouthful and considered opening the door. The man wore a beanie cap, a blue work short, jeans, and he held a green bag with his left hand in front of his right. Behind the bag he appeared to hold something…

My Craft

Retirement Tomatoes

By Michael Shawn Sommermeyer | November 5, 2016March 1, 2017 by Michael Shawn Sommermeyer

[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”https://wordsmithholler.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/tomato-498721_1920.jpg” credit=”Pixabay” align=”left” lightbox=”on” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”] His tomato plant stood in the middle of a mound of sand as a brittle stick with two wilted branches. He tried more water, which puddled around the stick. Water seemed to only lubricate the small grains before they cut into the base of the $2 plant. If a man could grow a field of potatoes on Mars, he should be able to grow a tomato. Or could he? Across from…

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A Slight Detour on the Way to Lunch

By Michael Shawn Sommermeyer | August 19, 2016October 20, 2016 by Michael Shawn Sommermeyer

Today, he refused to eat an ordinary peanut butter and jelly sandwich. His sandwich would express attitude. It would be special. He aimed to make it wonderful. John Harvey Kellogg, the guy who invented corn flakes, figured out how to make peanut butter from raw peanuts. The guy who often gets the credit, George Washington Carver, had nothing to do with it. Richard Allen Hofacker knew all about the main use for peanut butter; a protein substitute. He also…

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A Ghost Story – Ghosts Wished People Believed

By Michael Shawn Sommermeyer | December 6, 2013September 24, 2019 by Michael Shawn Sommermeyer

A few of the residents believed they lived in a haunted house. To the ghosts, it seemed unlikely anyone believed. They bumped into the living without the slightest notice. Sometimes they made a sudden movement to remind each other they were still around. They bounced among the residents coloring happy memories or darkening deep regrets. Never had they sparked passion in the hearts of the living. The ghosts wished people believed. Tommy woke from…