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The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

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Archives for May 2008

Whether The Storm or Weather The Storm

May 31, 2008 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

Here is another shot at some Johnny and June fiction. It is late, so we’ll see if I manage to come up with anything good. If it stinks I’ll just nuke it and try again. If you’re curious here are links to some prior attempts.

Notes For June- Fragments of Fiction
More about Johnny
June
Johnny and June- A Rough Draft
Some Notes for Fragments of Fiction May 2008

It had been clear for a long time that Johnny and June had stumbled onto something special. They had the sort of relationship that they had always wished for, more or less. It wasn’t flawless. They had their ups and downs and moments of doubt. There were times when they would shake their heads and wonder why they had ever gotten involved with each other.

But those moments always passed. Just when they thought that they couldn’t be more upset they’d find that the anger had passed and was quickly replaced by a longing for the other. Because in spite of the hard times they knew that when things were right with each other there was nothing better.

There was an intensity and depth to the love they shared that just wouldn’t die. At times the flames would seem to fizzle and the shine would wear off of the diamond, but that too didn’t last.

Sometimes those moments created more doubt. The intensity and depth was a tricky thing to deal with. June was far more tactile than Johnny. Any time it wavered she began to wonder if maybe she had fooled herself. She’d list all the things that she didn’t like about him, but the truth was that it was a relatively short list.

That was a bit frightening for her. It made her wonder if the problem wasn’t really him, but her. She’d get lost in thoughts of whether she just couldn’t carry a relationship beyond a certain length of time.

Sometimes during these moments she’d find herself doing things to push her Johnny away. It wasn’t conscious and if you asked her she’d swear that she wasn’t doing it, but Johnny felt differently. He was positive that these moments were an intentional act on her part.

It wasn’t always easy to easygoing about it. He had his share of moments when he wanted to pick a fight and let her have it. The thing was that Johnny had long since learned that the worst thing he could do was allow himself to just react and that was what the anger was, a reaction.

So he’d take a deep breath and consider whether it merited a response. More often than not it didn’t. Not only that, but he enjoyed disarming her by telling her that he loved her far too much to fight. She’d do something and he’d tell her that if she wanted to end things he wasn’t going to make it easy.

And so the moments would pass and they’d go about their business.

At times it seemed a bit screwy, but every love story has its quirks and theirs was no different.

Over time Johnny learned that when things were rough with June the best way to make things better was to arrange some quiet time for the two of them. It didn’t have to be a romantic getaway or a weekend away. All they needed were a few hours of quiet time together.

They’d head out to somewhere private and spend a few hours just enjoying each other’s company. It never ceased to amaze the two of them how these moments were never awkward. They were comfortable together. They didn’t have to talk or be physical to make it work.

It was all a big contradiction. For a person like June who loved order the contradictions were tough. It made it that much harder to be decisive. Johnny was far more used to living on the edge than she was. He had spent years just going off his gut, so in some ways he found the ups and downs to be easier.

But it’d be a lie to say that life on a merry-go-round was easy for him. He had more than his share of moments of doubt. Sometimes he found himself questioning whether he was being selfish by sticking around and that maybe the best thing he could do is just walk away.

Part of him believed that he wasn’t entitled to happiness, at least not the sort of happiness that June represented. So he’d try and convince himself that it was almost noble to give her a sign of his love by letting her go. And then he’d laugh and call himself a fool and an idiot because who would really let that sort of love go.

He was determined to see it through to the end. It wasn’t always going to be easy. There were many reasons why things be tough, but he believed that if they were steadfast and held onto each other they could weather the storm. That was the goal, weathering the storm.

It wasn’t whether the storm would be too hard to deal with, just how to best sail through it. So when times were tough he’d remind himself that it wasn’t a question of if they’d survive or how, they just would.

One day the clouds would pass and they’d find themselves richly rewarded for their devotion or something along those lines.

Filed Under: Fragments of Fiction

Blog Features & A Few Notes

May 31, 2008 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

I have three other blogs besides the Shack that I more or less run, but I don’t really spend much time on any of them. They kind of exist in a sort of limbo in which I tend to them upon the odd occasion.

It is a bit frustrating because they started with such potential. I took much of what I had learned from this blog and tried to apply it there. The goal was to do more, improve and grow, create a bionic blog.

Can’t really say that I have succeeded or failed and for the moment I am ok with that. Ok, I lied, I don’t really feel good about it, but I have more important issues occupying my time. That is part of the joy of being a responsible adult, making decisions about priorities and then acting upon them.

So for now I have made the choice to try and focus somewhat upon this little corner of cyberspace. As I enter my fifth year I have the same goals and objectives as always. It is time to improve the writing and layout and be discovered as the next great writer so that I can make one gazillion dollars.

Hell, I don’t need a gazillion or a bazillion, I’d settle for a million

Played ball today. I needed it. When I got to the gym I was in a foul mood. Fire was coming from my nose and laser beams were shooting from my eyes. I punished the opposition on the boards. I threw myself into the breach over and over. Every loose ball that I could get to was something that I wanted.

The goal was to completely exhaust myself and I did it. My team played five games. We won the first four, but couldn’t quite get over the hump to win the fifth. It was a bit disappointing, but I just ran out of gas and literally stumbled into the locker room.

I tore off my clothes and dragged my lazy ass to the sauna. I sat down and leaned against a wall and just listened to the conversation. After about 15 minutes I had sufficiently recovered enough energy to stagger to the jacuzzi. Soaked my aching body and then stumbled into a chair and fell asleep.

Apparently the fellas were less than pleased with the loud snoring emanating from me so they dropped a bag of ice on my belly and were surprised to find that I didn’t spring from my chair. Instead I opened my eyes and used my heat vision to scorch the hell out of the jackasses who were foolish enough to disturb my rest.

Ok, that is an exaggeration, I don’t really have heat vision. But if I did I might have some splaining to do to a few people.

Eventually I managed to shower, get dress, drive home and eat dinner. Don’t remember all that much from after dinner because I fell asleep again. Can’t say how long I slept for except that I woke up with enough energy to do a few things around the house and then made my way here.

Almost midnight and I can’t decide whether to crawl back between the sheets or just write. May try to bang out some more Johnny and June or may do something else. Stick around and you might found out what happens.

Filed Under: Blogging

LBJ, Jews and Israel

May 30, 2008 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

Meryl tipped me off to this post. Here is an excerpt:

“The Texas congressman’s district had only 400 Jews, but clearly the Johnson family’s Christian teachings had given him a strong affinity for Jews and their return to the Holy Land.

Five days after taking office in 1937, LBJ broke with the “Dixiecrats” and supported an immigration bill that would naturalize illegal aliens, mostly Jews from Lithuania and Poland. In 1938, Johnson was told of a young Austrian Jewish musician who was about to be deported from the United States. With an element of subterfuge, LBJ sent him to the U.S. Consulate in Havana to obtain a residency permit. Erich Leinsdorf, the world famous musician and conductor, credited LBJ for saving his live.

Johnson Saved Hundreds of Jews

That same year, LBJ warned a Jewish friend that European Jews faced annihilation. Somehow, Johnson provided him with a pile of signed immigration papers that were used to get 42 Jews out of Warsaw. But that wasn’t enough. According to historian, James M. Smallwood, Congressman Johnson used legal and sometimes illegal methods to smuggle “hundreds of Jews into Texas, using Galveston as the entry port. Enough money could buy false passports and fake visas in Cuba, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. … Johnson smuggled boatloads and planeloads of Jews into Texas. He hid them in the Texas National Youth Administration…. Johnson saved at least four or five hundred Jews, possibly more..””

The Elder has more.

Filed Under: Israel, LBJ, US, WWII

Season Finale of Lost

May 30, 2008 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

I thought it was excellent. Well done, enjoyable and not a bad way to pass the time.

Filed Under: Television

Dental Floss

May 30, 2008 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

Apparently I am floss challenged. That is not to say that I do not floss, I do. Rather I can’t seem to pull the correct length. It is either too short or too long.

On top of that I have large hands that I can’t quite fit in my mouth. It is probably a good thing, not that I really have a standing need to stick my hands in my mouth.

Some people might tell you that I am good at sticking my foot in my mouth. That is a tired euphemism, especially since my feet are even larger than my hands. I couldn’t fit them inside even if I wanted to.

And I don’t.

This is a ridiculous post, but right now my life is rather ridiculous. If you ask if that is good or bad I will say that I do not know. What does it matter and how did I get here.

One more comment about floss. I have a stupid joke I do with floss in which I simulate an air conditioner. Some of you may remember the A/C displays at Sears, you know the one that used the green thread on the grill.

That is all for now.

Filed Under: Things About Jack

From The Archives

May 30, 2008 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

I stumbled onto some old crap that I decided to dust off and display again.

Hate Mail

You Don’t Smell Like Daddy

Parents- List Your Child’s Most Irritating Toy/Show

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Will They Know Me- I Am Going To Die

The Internet’s Impact Upon Sex & Relationships

Selective Memories

How I Write

Polishing Posts- Editing

Advice You Probably Won’t Need

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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