by Matt Potter
Get the angle just right and you can create a pile-up.
I'm the Good Samaritan of Highway 57. Twice I've been cited for a Medal of Bravery but I've turned it down.
I don't want the scrutiny medal-giving brings.
I live atop a cliff behind a clump of trees, in a Frank Lloyd Wright knock-off bought in the last property bust. From the balcony you can see for miles across the ocean, and even in winter, as the sun sets, it's a million dollar view.
But there's no welcome mat in front of my door and I work long hours in Emergency at the large hospital twenty minutes up the coast anyway.
Have you seen my photo in the paper? I always have a serious expression on my face, am usually in a white coat and probably look completely unapproachable but there I am, and pasted in my scrapbook: Local Doctor Saves Another Life.
I keep it in a secret cavity the Frank Lloyd Wright wannabe designed, under the kitchen floor. Dragging it back from the bushes atop the cliff without gouging the lawn is a challenge, but neatness is next to godliness in my profession.
Catch the glint of the afternoon sun in the large mirror and rush hour on Highway 57 somersaults to a halt. Half an hour later I'm working miracles with battered bodies and there I am in the local newspaper again.
My ex-wife had four children after we divorced.
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Written for Week #47 (theme: blind spot) of '52 / 250 A Year of Flash'. Can't recall where the idea came from, but I have worked within the medical model and certainly found it wanting.
Nice work. The last line is kin to a punch in the gut.
Zinger at the end! Good one, Matt.
Wanting indeed. Amen, amen. Great punch line.
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Beautifully done, Matt. We just start to like this guy enough to want to know more, then you show us.
Whew! Ending is a nice little punch. Great writing Matt.
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Creepy sick. And a bit sad. Enjoyed it very much.
I read a story once about Frank Lloyd Wright built a house for his brother in law.
The brother complained that the roof was leaking on his desk. Franks response was "just move your desk"
I loved your story. Wow that ending.
Thanks all, thus far, for reading. Dunno where the ending came from but I remember thinking, this guy would be a nightmare to be married to!
Like this one a lot. Good tale, not a word wasted.
So great with the details then POW! This is so YOU!
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ps-- the doctor is not YOU, the story is. Just to clarify...
Ha ha!
Well written and the ending is great because it is not used as a gimmick; it is integral to the entire story set-up, the pivot which puts the protag's sort of melancholic telling--he is a hero, but certainly doesn't feel like it--in context.
Matt, Love your story! You really know how to punch it at the end!!! "Catch the glint of the afternoon sun in the large mirror and rush hour on Highway 57 somersaults to a halt. Half an hour later I'm working miracles with battered bodies and there I am in the local newspaper again." And of course, that last line that says so much!!!**** Nice!