Author Archives: Jaclynn Loibl

The well water is staining the brick behind and below the hose bib. The writing is on the wall, so to speak (such clever speak!) on how I should expect the shower, toilets, and sink to look. I’m told there’s such a thing as a water softener, but that’s above my pay grade for theContinue reading “Well, Well, Well”

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson I felt rushed out to sea for a few hours, scrambling against the pull, flailing arms grasping for something solid that ran like liquid through my fingers. I had a slight headache mixedContinue reading “Carving It Out”

Dang nabbit, I’ve gone and played my clan game until the cows came home, and it’s 11:00 p.m. A rhythmic drip from the faucet hasn’t been tended to, I’m not in my peach-themed pajamas, and I’d like to be in bed studying Spanish. I’m discouraged. My desire to get a treadmill is tainted by theContinue reading “Unboxing the Pods”

The weather in South Georgia swooshes by like a NASCAR driver having to pee. Is that dark cloud a menace or simply waving a quick hello before it drifts on its way? On a call about writing, Joey spoke of the uniqueness of Kansas’ weather and an anomaly that recently occurred known as a “breakoutContinue reading “Civility Wars”

A lady and her husband passed a cart piled high with doorknobs and light bulbs at Home Depot. Seeing it, she paused and touched the items, “This used to be us.” Turning to look, I stepped toward the cart and set yet another 4-pack of 100-watt bulbs. “Oh, pardon me,” she said, obviously thinking theContinue reading “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”

Reading the headlines “French pole vaulter’s bulge cost him the Olympics” and “French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati misses Olympic final after manhood catches on crossbar” had me laughing harder and harder at each reporter’s try at skirting around the word penis. I worry I’m not being authentic when writing. That felt like the most genuineContinue reading “A Wang in the Way”

I’ve been eyeing a crape myrtle at the end of the road. The pink blossoms fling into the air on branches like a drag queen’s hands at pride. She’s a beaut, and I want her. Well, her distant cousin, anyway. Illegally digging up my new neighbor’s tree wouldn’t make the best first impression. Planting sodContinue reading “Flamboyant Flowers”

I’m in that space now. One foot in a new life, but not fully there—teetering between worlds. My head spins with the newness, yet I find encouragement in the Roberta Hardware store. It’s the kind of place where old men sit and talk about politics and the weather, and where the owner takes you byContinue reading “Down on the Corner”

Not knowing when I’d have the chance again, I fumbled through the all-too-quiet rented condo for Archie’s leash. After a few bumbles and bonks, and with Dave helping me like a shuffling zombie, I found it, and we were off. What first was meant to be a walk around the block to let him peeContinue reading “Cross Country Move: Nashville, TN to Roberta, GA – Day 7 – 4.8/5”

I feel shame for who I am, for who I’ve been, and who I will become. But then I reached tippy-toed for a bar, and my nose did not know. It’s the wind’s whip that brightens my face to a glisten as vivid as the symbol on a tooth-whitening carton. Don’t you cower in theContinue reading “A Lightning’s Strike”