My wife is a probation officer. That means I have to listen to these stories after she comes home from work. I do my best, but it’s not always easy. Some of them are certainly better than others, but I have gotten in trouble for drifting off in the middle of her work stories a bit too often.
Lately, I have had the (brilliant?) idea to start writing some of them out as short stories. The result has been good for my domestic situation. Suddenly I am all ears, asking questions and rooting out additional details when she tells me about her day. She seems to be appreciative of my obvious increased interest. Sometimes I have to ask her to repeat certain parts, and she is only too happy to oblige. If she only knew why, I would probably be in even bigger trouble than I was when I wasn’t paying close enough attention.
All the names must be changed in these probation officer stories, including mine and the county/state that she works in. I can’t risk any problems in her career over my new pet project. She is, after all, the one getting us a pension.
As you have probably guessed, I am a terribly selfish person who is only capable of focusing on my own personal interests. But I’m working on that. I hope you found some kind of value in my story, be it educational, revealing, or purely entertaining. Heck, I’m just glad somebody read it. Thanks.
Paul Tosh
Interests writing, fishing
Favorite Books Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King, On Writing by Stephen King
Tom experiences extreme anxiety when wrongly persecuted at work
Maybe the sun was shining bright that day, or maybe it was overcast. Either way, Tom wouldn’t have known. Heck, there could have been a spectacular July 4 th parade going down Main Street and he wouldn’t have even noticed. Tom rarely lifted his head as he...
