This is an idea Lauren and I were throwing around: starting a serial novel (well, in my case, more like a short story) and writing it in installments in our blogs. So, if you’ll notice, I created a new category for these installments. Later on, you’ll be able to browse that category and read everything I have to date. So, without further ado… “The Dismal and the Divine”:

I could start with the road trip or the two months of chaos that ensued, but this whole ordeal really started in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

I had just made my purchase: some frozen dinners and bargain DVDs. I’m not really what they call a “people person,” so I was looking forward to a night alone.

A wiry, wild-eyed, disheveled man was standing just outside the automatic doors of Wal-Mart. He had a few days’ worth of stubble on his face and his hair looked pretty dirty, but he was dressed in brown flannel slacks and a nice, although wrinkled, blue twill shirt. His shoes looked a bit worn, but were still in pretty good shape. So, obviously not homeless. He was stopping everybody as they left the store.

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