The Arlington Club & Other Short Stories
Published STORIES
Anthony Maize's first anthology of short stories leads readers to encounter themes of justice, love, lust, labor, redemption, retribution, fear, ghosts, and the spirit world. Some of Maize’s characters exist in interiority, in solitude, as in “The Cave,” interacting only with nature, memories, and a dog named Sue. Others meet in what can only be described as serendipitous good fortune, like the vagabond Bosco Jones and the elderly Miz Thibodaux (Maisy) who gives Bosco shelter, food, and clothing. With a photographer’s keen eye and a writer’s love affair with words, Maize paints compelling portraits of human interactions and relationships, powerfully brushed by rich descriptions of the natural world.
This book supports the Salvation Army of Reading at 301 S. 5th Street. The author reveals: "I support The Salvation Army based upon the story a coworker told me of the care and support he received from them when wounded in the Korean War. He could not speak more highly of them. In addition, within 72 hours of Hurricane Katrina making landfall, the Salvation Army was serving 20,000 meals a day to survivors and rescue personnel while FEMA was still looking for its keys."
The Origins of Pallet Jack - One of 19 short stories in the book
The Bold Writers takes its name from the coffee shop, Café Bold, where we originally met on a Saturday once a month. One Saturday in late winter, my favorite parking space on a side street behind a restaurant was taken by a very battered, very old, one-ton flatbed truck. A spry old man in a ragged Carhartt jacket was loading shipping pallets from a stack behind the restaurant onto the truck. Somehow, we ended up engaging in conversation. I mentioned I was hoping to retire soon. He told me he was eighty-four years old. I told him "Well God bless you. I can't imagine myself working at your age." He grew thoughtful, looked at me and said, "I'm what the church ladies call a womanizer. I love the ladies, always have. I need the money to keep my girlfriend happy."
Now there was a story just begging to be written.
Patty and Gert
Printed in the Evening Street Review in Autumn 2019
Starts on Page 86
Bosco Jones
Printed in the Evening Street Review in Spring 2018
Starts on Page 25