Perhaps

Derek's wedding day had arrived. As a child of divorce he desperately wanted to know that what he shared with Mandy was true love. So on the morning of his nuptials, he visited Solanaca, the neighborhood witch.

Solanaca was known for her ability to read the future and cast hexes. For 100 dollars, she offered a potion that would compel the imbiber to answer one question truthfully.

Derek gladly paid the cash. Superstition prevented him from seeing Mandy before the ceremony, so he waited until the reception to slip the potion into her champagne.

"Do you truly love me?"

"Perhaps."

Time Tells All

The CIA flying the planes in 9/11 is awkward. To realize 6.5 trillion dollars spent to kill five hundred thousand terrorists at a cost of 8 million dollars per person is a lie? Making the question why pay for war when it's all a lie? RMS Lusitania 1982 documents revealed it carried ammunition. Remember the Maine 1976 investigation cleared Spain with the boiler being determined the cause of the explosion. Two million Vietnamese people died because of the Gulf of Tonkin event which never occurred. To realize Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Syria did not gas people.

From Guest Contributor Clinton Siegle

Chamomile Tea

"I'd like some chamomile tea, please."

"Our specialty."

"It's the only thing on the menu."

"True, but we have many options. There's Roman chamomile, English chamomile, garden chamomile, ground apple chamomile, low chamomile, mother's daisy, whig plant--"

"Just the standard chamomile will be fine."

"Please let me finish. We also have low chamomile, anthémis odorante, anthemis nobilis, chamomile d’Anjou, chamomile noble, chamomile romaine, fleur de chamomile romaine, flores anthemidis, garden chamomile--"

"You already said that one."

"Yes, but most people don't pay attention, so they never notice."

"How much for a cup?"

"Ten dollars. Hold on, where are you going?"

Paper Thin Walls

Graham's 300 dollars a month bought him a two-room sublet on the Upper East side. The twenty-four hour access to entertainment from his coterie of neighbors was complimentary.

He was privy to all manner of arguments, heated conversations, shouting matches, and late-night confessionals. After only a few months, he was googling "How to become a therapist" now that he possessed real-world experience. Then there was the lovemaking.

Graham stopped watching TV soon after moving in. He found more value from the real lives around him rather than the fake ones on his television. He finally understood the meaning of authentic.

Another Sign Of The American Decline

From a young age, Megan enjoyed the feel of new money against her skin. She would save her pennies, ride her bike to the corner bank, and trade them in for brand new dollars. Her mom would frequently find her naked in her bedroom, rolling around on her newly-acquired currency.

As an adult, Megan developed a gambling addiction. She fell into bankruptcy on three separate occasions and ruined two marriages, one of which was her own.

But when the treasury secretary succumbed to the latest bird virus, the president could find no better choice to assume the vacant cabinet position.