Humpty Dumpty Underground (Image from a 1974 Portand Press Herald Staff Photo)

"They were tired of life underground, but some of the people he had provided for were now on the FBI's most wanted list. Robert knew nothing of bombs, how they were made, or why certain targets were chosen. He had merely been caught up in the youthful passions of the time, had an extra couch, and never turned anyone away. As a result, the family now lived on a dusty backroad, and rarely ventured outside the rented trailer they called home. When they did risk stepping out, it was always for the sake of the boy. A country fair, a petting zoo, an art show, anything that might impart to the child feelings of normalcy. Papier-mache giraffes, humpty dumpty, mom and dad."

Cold Dictated (Image from a 1878 bookplate)

"Surface like granite, the cold dictated every element of life, and death. No choice but to consider ground level acceptable, and pray snow soon blanket and consecrate the spot."

Lily (Image from a found vintage b&w photo)

"Myron wasn't a ham he was just a guy that liked to have a good time. This was never more true then when in the bosom of brotherhood. Most of his behaviour was innocent fun, but occasionally he crossed lines resulting in a subsequent flurry of explanations and apologies. In the circle of fraternity, he was tolerated as a loveable buffoon, but that changed while out on the lake. He had only meant to startle the young woman with a playful nudge toward the edge, but her dress was long, her balance unsure, and the boat, responding to the swipe of a rogue wave, dipped and poured her into the frigid water below. Her dress opened like a parachute and briefly settled on the surface. She looked like a large pond lily but then she sank, her face disappearing into middle of the silky garment as it collapsed around her twisting into the inky blackness."

Birdie's Naked Cheeks (Image from a vintage 1960's found polaroid photo)

"Years had past, but when they danced, a lingering sense of tension remained. Slipping time had done nothing to diminish the memory of that night of debauchery. What started as a routine game of Bridge amongst friends, spun out of control as the couples, fueled by a bottomless martini carafe, began entertaining games of a wholly unholy sort. Suprisingly it was Jane, more apt to call parties to a close, who on this night tickled the erotic sensibilities of the group. Her wicked mood lead to an upturned table and fifteen minutes of unbridled passion. Sated, they rose to their feet, faces flushed, eyes wide in disbelief. Birdie broke the spell when she turned to show two playing cards stuck to her naked cheeks. They laughed hysterically to see both a king and a queen glued to her glistening ass. A true sign that what had just transpired was comically wrong."

Wrong Corner (Image from a 1960s scale model)

"Only minutes remained to accept the package, but they chose the wrong corner, leaving the world perilously close to destruction."

Monsanto (Image from an assembled group of magazine images and a vintage matchbook cover)

".....Monsanto was born to unleash it's horror's across the globe."

Planet Bound (Image from a found vintage b&w photo)

"The wings looked hopeless, but Sage knew that if the hydraulic hoses were intact, he just might be able to get one of the bugs airborne. In the air they had a chance, on the ground, one best be prepared to accept a certain gruesome death. He had seen it before, two miles up, a witness to the futile scramblings of the helplessly planet bound. Now he had a day, maybe two, to get back up above the coming melee. The odds were not good."

Cold (Image from a vintage 1930's small 2" by 1.5" found b&w photo)

"The dream was always of cold, snow, my vaporized breath. Didn't matter that it was the middle of the summer, if it was this dream, I woke shivering, my body chilled. Was it a cabin? A wooded glen? I could never tell, but it was an important place, a destination I had to reach. I have yet to get there. Hope I never do."

Aroostook McDougals (Image from a found b&w photo of a Maine family visiting the 1939 NY World Fair)

"The McDougals from Aroostook County did not quite know what to make of the things they saw.  The truth though, was that the bales of rolled hay left to bleach in the fields back home, were in many respects, just as remarkable."

Poolside (Image from a 1960's lucite purse with applied vintage photo decoupage)

"Poolside, as I remembered her.  With great care I trimmed your favorite photo and glued it next to the spot where she watched you swim your daily laps.  It didn't matter that you climbed out shedding water like a sieve.  She still jumped into your arms, the comfort of your hold no contest for the chilled irritant of early morning water."

As you can see I wasn't kidding. The photo came from the bottom of this slightly crazy lucite purse. Way before upcycling was even a concept, someone added this remarkable decoupage treatment and consequently left the world a better place.

Down With Alice (Image: a collage from two vintage books)

"Madness this dream of London, and surf.  He knew of neither, but still it would visit, six, maybe seven times a month.  Soaking wet, taking the drop with Alice, down into Trafalgar Square, he felt like a king."

Chrome Plated Microphone (Image from a found b&w photo of a Maine boy doing a radio show)

"As a matter of survival, Jerad assured himself, that going out live to all of Cumberland County was just as heroic as catching a football in an endzone.  Who cares if the topic was Mr. Fuzzy Tail and that his voice was coached to squeak in the highest register he could muster?  He knew that control of the media was the ultimate power, and that some day his boot would press hard on the necks of the popular kids.  The ball catchers, the well coiffed,  the vote getters,  he  would slay them all with his chrome plated microphone."

Space Mule (Image from the book jacket of a 1950's SciFi book)

"Major Tom tugged, but the stubborn space mule clung fast to the the rail, leaving the pack of durillium crystals perilously close to slipping off into the dark shadow of endless space."

Try Angles (Image from a 1917 Camp Fire Girls Guide)

                 "Try angles instead of circles."

Kind Of White (Image from a vintage 50's deck of playing cards)

"Oooh, Birdland!  Who's on the bill?  Miles Davis?  Gee Tom you know I don't go in for that bebop nonsense.  Now if it was Mario Lanza I'd say to heck with my hair."

Driverless Chevy (Image from a 1962 book "Man And The Motor Car")

"This was the third time in the last month that Wilbert Jones witnessed the speeding specter of the driverless Chevy.  A luminous aura that passed through the hood of his Packard, leaving him breathless, and his glasses comically off-kilter."

Hungry Wolves (From a 1949 home improvement magazine with an added label from god knows where)

"Randall felt certain that the fellows would see that a simple red stripe was the best choice for the group.  A clean understated statement of membership.  A signal to any other lone wolf that here was a chap on the down low."

Pirate James (From a vintage 1950's b&w photo)

"No, it was not a god damned pirate's life for James.  Once out to sea he quickly realized that it was bloody hard work, in cramped quarters, fueled by substandandard food, all for very little pay.  Infact it sucked so hard that he was tempted to get the chest buried then flee for the forest to lead a life amongst the natives."

Moon Club (from a 1940's b&w undeveloped negative)

"You would knock five steady beats, then after the voice responded, two more.  Once in,  you might as well have stepped on the moon.  But that was a long time ago, ce n'est pas la meme chose aujourd'hui."

Unknown (from a vintage b&w photo of an honor guard sentry at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier"

"In the first ten minutes, as trained, Lawrence cleared his mind of all thoughts, allowing the solemn sense of duty to enrapture him, igniting a seemingly impenetrable auric field.  By minute fifteen however, he always slipped, and the same refrain would ensue.  'You ain't nothing but a hound dog  Cryin' all the time  You ain't nothing but a hound dog  Cryin' all the time  Well you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine'."

Gone Cold (Image from a 1940's b&W photo of an unknown urban scene)

"Parked and watching for hours, Red began to feel numb.  His coffee, previously exhaling wispy trails of white steam, had gone cold.  The sailor had assured him that the blond in the photo would be leaving Lichee Village between one and two, it was now three a.m., and the street remained empty."

Beyond The Curve (from a 1940's b& w photo of the coast of Maine)

"For weeks she dreaded what she knew was inevitable.   Certain that if she accepted his offer,  like the outcropping of stone beneath her feet, she would never leave these shores.  She gazed intently at the horizon and yearned to go further,  beyond the curve, down the other side, to places unfamiliar."