Monthly Archives: January 2025

Johnny Dollar Died

Posted on 01/27/2025 by Eckofoid

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We thought he would die

   in a hail of bullets,

 

Or forced over a cliff

   by a villain’s car,

 

Or poisoned by one too many

   jilted blondes;

 

But, instead,

   he married, had kids,

 

Retired rich

   and grew old.

 

His memories faded,

   but on his death bed

 

He gasped his last words,

   “Expense account total, zero.”

 

 

      Johnny Dollar was was the star of one of the longest running

      radio detective shows ever, “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” (1949-1962, 886 episodes).

      Here, courtesy of the Internet Archive, is a sample:

 

Monsters

Posted on 01/07/2025 by Eckofoid

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After flying all night

   over the Atlantic,

 

he deplaned,

   while children ran from him,

 

screaming, “Monstre, monstre!”,

   in Danish falsetto.

 

He examined himself

   and found nothing grotesque,

 

aside from a few

   bumps and wrinkles,

 

tired eyes and

   an unfortunate reliance

 

on flat California English;

   nothing terribly scary.

 

And, then, the barks —

   he turned and saw,

 

close on his heels,

   a pair of bulldogs

 

on leather leashes

   with day-glo pink collars,

 

and, as he petted

   the slobbery giants,

 

he felt his newfound monsterhood

   sadly slip away.

   

Leaves, Children

Posted on 01/03/2025 by Eckofoid

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Leaves, star-like,

   beneath the maple,

 

Levitate in breeze

   and pinwheel

 

Across my path,

   bouncing, hopping,

 

Child souls

   in single file,

 

Giggle whispering,

   “Lookit! Lookit!” —

 

Cartwheeling

   little show-offs.