http://slow.writerscafe.org/SergeWlodarski The original writings of author Serge Wlodarski en-us Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org 1775985500 WritersCafe.org RSS Generator 15 Never underestimate a janitor. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/2104111/ Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. — Sun Tzu http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/2103895/ Inside each of us lies something magnificent, waiting to happen. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/2103657/ Sometimes, the weirdness of real life exceeds fiction. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/2103496/ Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1950332/ It’s not wrestling, it’s wrastlin’. There is a difference. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1948405/ You won’t believe the stuff some people consider collectible. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1947498/ There's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses. — Elwood Blues http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1944909/ Music is the universal language. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1942390/ Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping...into the future — Steve Miller http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1940998/ There’s a difference between violence and senseless violence. — DMX http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1938116/ Everything in this story is true. I really did get my first guitar in 1969. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1936962/ A place for everything, and everything in it’s place. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1930762/ And the painted ponies go up and down… http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1928603/ That is how Blossom became my mule.  Leonard gave Elmer a ride to the train station the next morning.  When he got back, Leonard told Jessie, “I don’t reckon we are ever going to hear that mule sing or talk.”  Jessie laughed.  “I think you may be catching .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1915992/ It is no fun getting woke up with a hand over your mouth.  But I calmed down when I realized the evil looking, flashlight-lit grin I was looking up at was Jessie.  He’d already woke up Leonard.  And oiled my window before we went to bed.  It didn’t make any noise when.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1915929/ The crowd calmed down.  Elmer gave Blossom some treats, then continued.“Ladies and gentlemen, we are nearing the end of the show.  We will close with a round of questions.  You may ask Blossom any question that has a yes or no answer.  You see the signs for those respon.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1915254/ He led the mule to another set of posts.  Similar to the ones in the jumping rig, but farther apart.  Instead of supporting a pole, a rope was strung between the posts.  Every few feet, hanging from the rope, was a small sign.  The first ten had the numbers zero through nine.&nbs.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1908404/ Jessie started to respond to Leonard but lost interest when he saw what Elmer did next.  He turned toward Blossom, standing about ten feet away.  Elmer was wearing a cowboy hat.  He took it off and tossed it toward Blossom, like kids throw a frisbee today. She caught it between her te.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1907940/ Nowadays everyone uses tractors to plow fields and trucks to haul stuff.  But it hasn’t always been like that.  Used to be a lot of horses, oxen, donkeys and mules.  We called them beasts of burden.Things were different back then, in rural Mississippi, in the 1930s.  Au.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1907176/ Before YouTube there was the park next to town hall. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1907174/ So this is what I came up with.  I was going to give Jadzia a car, but not free and clear.  It would be a trade.  She gets the car, I get the Voskhod.  And, she agrees to never ride any motorcycle.Today, if a Cuban has the money, they can buy a new car.  Korean imports a.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1905818/ Politics is a rollercoaster in Cuba.  When my father opened our shop in 1951, we were a democracy.  However, the government was corrupt.  While my father and some of Cuba prospered, the needs of the poor were overlooked.  There was much discontent.In 1952, former president Fu.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1905142/ Jadzia explained how it was all my fault.  I’d turned her into a car repair junkie.  I’d taught her to be creative, to never assume a vehicle couldn’t be fixed.  When she saw the wrecked machine, it called to her like a stray kitten.  She had to take it home.&nb.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1904422/ It started in the 1860s, when German engineer Nickolas Otto began experimenting with four cycle internal combustion engines.  A few decades later, the automobile craze would begin in earnest.  Different types of propulsion systems would be tried, including steam engines and electric motors.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1904130/ Or intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1904129/ You can’t judge a book by its cover. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1902456/ It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. — Sir Edmund Hillary http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1901353/ The rest of the girls stood and chatted near the van while Dakota climbed in.  Iceberg was almost awake.  Eddie turned on the video and audio feeds.As Iceberg came to, what he saw was the inside of a dominatrix’s studio.  Whips, chains, and other torture devices were hanging.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1900955/ Cadillacs work odd hours.  Mostly at night.  They are self employed and set their own schedule.  Iceberg was typical.  The workday ended just before sunrise and the next one began whenever he felt like getting out of bed.  There was one predictable part of Iceberg’.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1900111/ Eddie said, “When you put on the headset, it will be totally dark until the system finishes powering up.  Flip the earplugs down and get them adjusted in your ears.  There are two tiny TV screens, one in front of each eye.  They will go from black to gray, then you will be in a .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1899161/ Janus sat in the booth at the coffee shop and looked out the window as Iceberg pushed the woman around on the sidewalk.  Like Iceberg, Janus was a pimp.  But he wasn’t a violent a*****e.  He didn’t treat his prostitutes like that.He dismissed the thought of intervening.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1898377/ There is a virtual solution for every real problem. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1898376/ The winners get to write the history books. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1898082/ Written for a contest with a 200 word limit... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1897444/ On the hike down, I began thinking about what was next.  The trail had been built.  The mine had been cleaned out.  I was ready.  But I had no idea how I would go about collecting the seeds.  To have a serious seed bank, I’d need seeds from six continents, and as many .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1896672/ I was staying at the hotel in Chitina, the town nearest the mine.  It had been a busy, wealthy town during the gold rush that ended 60 years before.  Now about one hundred people lived here, eking out an existence off of tourists who come to fish in the nearby rivers or to visit the old mi.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1895909/ After three days they took that nasty tube out of my chest.  Then they made me get out of bed and walk around the room, a nurse holding me on each side.  That hurt.  The surgeon told me it was a good thing I was young and fit before the accident.  I could regain my health if I wo.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1895504/ It doesn’t matter to me what people think.  I hear what you say behind my back.  You just keep on doing your thing.  My name is John V. Morton.  I save seeds.I go on the same rant every time someone asks “Why do you collect seeds?”  Because humans are s.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1894517/ You can turn these things into food. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1894515/ I fool people for a living. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1893391/ Next stop, the future. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1892727/ Payment is due when services are rendered. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1891624/ In an hour, we were at the Giradot airport, southwest of Bogota.  When she wasn’t busy making purses out of rope, Sasha had earned a pilot’s license.  The Cessna Citation was a big investment, but it seated eight, and carried us and the loot to our destination.  Our old st.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1890855/ At the same time, Jozefien and I tied up Mr. Rojas.  We left some play in the rope we secured to his wrists, so he would be able to open the massive vault door.  The system used a palm scanner keyed only to the pattern of blood vessels in Mr. Rojas’s right hand.  We tied a r.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1889919/ I looked around the room.  Carla and Sasha had been steadily losing at poker.  We’d been pacing ourselves and were less drunk than Mr. Rojas or the Lumberjack.  I sent the final go signal.  On the third floor, Barbie walked down the hall and spoke to Luis.  “.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1889188/ Once they were out of sight, the women would stay in communication via a Morse code app Candy had found on the internet.  Pushing “1” on the keypad would send a brief vibration to each of our phones.  The plan had numbered steps.  When Barbie sent a single pulse, that mean.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1888472/ Hector instructed us to wait at the gate, per protocol.  Diego was on perimeter rounds.  When he got to the gate he had the dogs sniff through the car.  They were trained to detect weapons and explosives.  They didn’t find anything.  The tasers Jozefien hid after remov.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1888130/ Now that I had proven my basic skills, it was time to get noticed.  I had something few of my competitors had.  Years of experience in America.  I had connections in the largest economy on the planet.  I could help Mr. Rojas expand. It took a few months for me to get com.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1887313/ Robbing a Colombian drug lord is not a trivial task.  Neither is staying married to a sociopath.  When my wife came to me with her idea, I realized I would have to do the first, if I wanted to continue doing the second.I should have known it would come to this.  I was well aware b.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SergeWlodarski/1886262/