MAYBE, A Murder...(Short Fiction)

'Just A Hat'...
A group of old men, the same bunch every morning, sat around tables at the only cafe. They drank their coffee and talked of what happened.
All that was left of him was his hat, they said. Found alongside the road, alongside the ditch bank.
They found his hat, but they never found him. Just his hat. Just gone, without a trace...
Whoever he was, he wasn't from around here, they said. Nobody knew him. Nobody knew his hat. He couldn't have been from around these parts. Wrong kind of hat...
They all agreed, since nobody knew him, it didn't matter what happened to him. They didn't know him, so he wouldn't be missed.
MAYBE...He was JUST a hat...

Reflections on time/Alone In The Forest(Fiction)

It has been theorized that time doesn't travel;We do.Time is like a forest and remains in place, forwards, backwards, from where we are. In short, we pass on our journey through the forest, with new scenes before us and the old, behind us, but it never changes. Standing in place, vibrating forever the same.
I must have made a wrong turn somewhere back there, because suddenly, I didn't know where I was. I had been down this road before, but now, things were all different. It seemed impossible, because there were no other roads I could have turned off on, still I seemed to be in a different place. To make things worse, it was starting to get dark.
I was just about ready to turn around and go back the other way, when I saw some lights a little ways up, and decided to stop and ask.
It was a small gas station, but the sign above it was something I hadn't seen in years; The sign of the 'Flying  Red Horse'. I was born in the 40s and gas station signs and a lot of things had changed since, but sure enough, that was what it was, and the station was open.
Like I said, I had been this way before , but I didn't remember ever seeing this filling station before. How could I have missed such an odd thing? Even the gas pumps were ancient; I wondered where they got their gas from? I needed gas, so I stopped st the pumps. When I looked at the price, I knew something wasn't right. It was leaded gas, and it was fifteen cents a gallon. The thought went through my mind; Where am I?
I had heard the bell ding when I pulled in , but couldn't believe it when the man came out to pump the gas.
He smiled and said, "Howdy! What can I do for you"?
I told him, "I need gas, but do you have any unleaded gas"? He just smiled and replied, "I know where you came from, they must have it, but not here...yet! What we have will work  for you, till you get back." His remark totally  confused me, but he seemed to realize the problem. He explained.
"You made a wrong turn; One that you couldn't see, but you are not where you are suppose to be, AND you are not the first to  do this. About 5 miles back up the road you will be back in your own time." He laughed and told me this had happened many times before, but if I followed his instructions I would find my way back.
I paid the man what I owed him and thanked him and told him I didn't understand. "Not suppose to...but follow my directions and you can think about it later". Again he laughed heavily, waved and disappeared back into the station.
I turned back the way I came and sure enough, I soon found unleaded gas stations. My head was spinning. I felt funny, but now I knew where I was. What I can't get out of my mind; Where had I been?

CROWS-Dark And Mysterious...

When most human beings see a Crow they just know that they are an annoyance, get into the trash, and everything else sinister. Little, do most know, that behind that dark, mysterious exterior is a creature much smarter than we could imagine. I have read quite a bit about Crows and watched a PBS special about them. They are much more than meets OUR eyes.
I have never witnessed it, but years ago I heard of people splitting a Crow's tongue and teaching them to talk. Fact or fiction, I don't know, but it seems Crows are smart enough to WATCH US(Humans) and if for some reason or other(fear, or whatever) we stand out to them, they REMEMBER us...

There seems to be evidence that if they fear or dislike a particular individual for some reason they lock it in their memories and may even pass on the projected feelings to their offspring. It may seem a bit scary to some that a (so-called) dumb bird is possibly not someone you want for an adversary. I hear humans constantly stating(their opinion) that WE are the smartest things around, but just HOW do we know that? We can guess all day long as to how a bird or any creature(other than ourselves) might think, or be able to think, but since we are not in their brains...it is only a conceited opinion on our part...
It might be wise to show our fellow creatures a little more respect, and if you are really out there...just talk to a Crow sometime. Listen to what he has to say...

Wind At Night...

Sometimes, when I can't stand the dark loneliness of the night, I open my windows, let the cool breezes make their way through the house and listen to the messages my wind chimes have to pass along

. They dance to the dictates of the wind and tell stories in unknown voices of many whom I never knew. They come to me just on the edge of sleep and in a low murmur. Nothing makes sense to me, but at least, I know I am not alone and I'm sure they feel better...having someone to tell their stories to...
I listen for a long while then...Sorry...I dose off...

Music and Our DNA...

Have you ever realized that music has the ability to send us off in directions that we may never have traveled before? At times, when we hear a song from our teen or later years we may instantly return  to a time in our lives that we were happy(sometimes not), but at times it may send you somewhere that only your imagination may have gone. Some place that you THINK that you have never been, but for  some reason it popped into your mind. It comes at you like a memory that belongs to someone other than yourself? How can this be?
I have read that some things are passed on to us through our DNA, a gift from our ancestors, something they experienced and it left a lasting impression and a major change in the DNA that we inherit. Most people seem to have very little idea of their family histories, more than one or two generations back. Most have no real idea of their true bloodlines. In short, most of us don't know who we really are or where we came from, and often don't want to know...
How can it be that the sound of Gypsy, or other exotic music stirs something in us that is almost frightening and totally not us?On the other hand, many believe in the idea of Reincarnation, that we have lived before as someone else, in a different place, time and culture. We may never know but I, personally, still have to wonder...WHO am I...Really?