Have you ever sat inside an anechoic chamber? Just staring at the jagged peaks, troughs and asymmetrical recesses carved into foot-thick, off-white foam on all six surfaces? The irregular shapes scatter sound in all directions except yours, absorbing everything. And I mean everything. Not even my quickening breaths bounce back. The result is… eerie. Isolating. Downright oppressive. The claustrophobic nothingness swamps ev...

21st of February – Season 3 Solomon Magubane wasn’t known for being impatient but today seemed to be testing the theory as he’d been waiting at the petrol pump for what felt like ages. He was currently at the Sasol fuel station, showing some solidarity for his Auto One team. But when he looked across the street at the Shell fuel station, he couldn’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to go there. It wasn’t li...

24th of January – Season 3 MONDAY MORNING Mandla Xulu felt strange sitting in the lobby outside Moodswing’s office. Even though the Club President was nothing like the Deputy Mayor, Mandla felt exactly how he usually felt sitting outside his father's office, listening to his PA, Sindiwe typing away on her desktop as the dread of the conversation set in. Mandla realized that what he was dreading wasn’t the conversation wit...

28th of November – Season 3 Eleanor Coetzee was uncomfortable. She was currently sitting in the back of a black Hyundai SUV with the Formula-X Racing Club President, Terrance 'Moodswing' Moodley. She didn't know what was worse: being called to his office or being picked up by him to go to the pay-per-view. Ellie – as she preferred to be called – was a 23-year-old Afrikaans woman who had taken advantage of Moodswing's penc...

Dear Humans, You're all so weird! Sorry, let me start that again. I've been on your planet for 35 years. I've witnessed some things that I wouldn't want anyone else to, yet people do. I've seen the world through the eyes of a baby, growing up to become an infant, child, teenager, and finally adult. When I was a baby, things were simple: Cry for attention, sleep most of the time, play for a bit. This pattern continued unti...

Frank Baldwin stared out the window of his office. The lights of downtown Eversham shone before him. Usually, the mayor smiled when he looked out at those lights. A lifelong resident who had been the city’s mayor for twelve years, Frank was pleased and proud with the work he had done to improve the city. Tonight, though, he gazed out at them and sighed. It was looking like twelve years was enough for the citizens of Evers...

Waves of people filled the streets while chanting hand in hand,in hopes they’d send a message that would spread across the land. Some acts of grave injustice that they’d witnessed on TVaroused a mass of anger ‘bout police brutality. A cry for racial justice and a search for common groundhad them shouting for attention with an omnipresent sound. Some would follow ordinance and tout a rightful cause,but others turned to vio...

Indianhead summer begins in the middle of June. That’s when the grass along the roadway of our rural Wisconsin town is available to be mowed. Six years ago the Town approved a resolution to prevent town mowing operations until the second week of June. Tall grass up to the edge of the roadway is the price one pays to protect the habitat of ground-nesting birds. It’s acceptable in northern Wisconsin because an unkempt look...

Once upon a time in a land not so far away there was a girl named Žaneta, who was known to her friends as Goldilocks, on account of her beautiful long hair that was as yellow as a buttercup.  One sunny day, Goldilocks awoke to a snorty squeaky noise coming from under her window. She was used to funny occurrences, and she wondered if the day would lead to an adventure. Goldilocks was no stranger to adventures, like the tim...

The president is doing greatOnly a fool would thinkOtherwiseMost everyone believesWe should trust himThere is no cause for concernBut some are sayingThe country is in dangerPeople are scaredNothing could be further from the truthEverything is going to be fineNow read from the bottom up…* * *© 2017 by M.P. Witwer • All rights reserved  

A nation was braced for the end of the raceand the close of a turbulent year –The votes had been cast, all the data amassed and the victor was soon to appear. They’d both tried to tap a mysterious gap,as a way to unbalance the scale –was anyone’s guess, but the folks in the presswere convinced that the Donald would fail. None were prepared for the stats that were airedwhen the millions of votes had been summed –was a tota...

How sad the best that we can do is picking these pathetic two for President of our United States. One a bozo quite uncouth the other cannot tell the truth A sad choice to have on our voting plates! Yes it’s fun to laugh and dump all over clownish Donald Trump who won’t release a single tax return. A cad who smiles and offers scotch then grabs a woman by the crotch? It is enough to make one’s stomach turn! But Clinton’s sc...

A con man rolled into town, With a funny looking wig. Made a lot of promises, Everything will be really big. He claims he doesn’t like immigrants, Says they cause a lot of strife, But you certainly would never know, By looking at his imported wife. And he doesn’t like Muslims, And forget it if you’re black. And as for those pesky Mexicans, He’s sending them all back. He says he has a really big plan, To cure America’s ill...

Breathe in, Breathe out, Slow, Deep Can’t face the world, Can’t bear the helplessness Breathe in, Breathe out How can we cope in such a world? A cruel place, unjust Slow, Deep How did we get here? What have we done? What have we all done? Breath in, Breath out, Let the paper bag calm you And hide your guilty face

The Iron Rook I "You want to assassinate the royal family?" Duncan repeated the elder Sage's words slowly; doubting every word."I prefer to call it a silent coup, but yes." Sage Ordon replied with a calm smile. As if they were talking about taking a nice sail down the Riverlands, rather than a plot of high treason.The Sage had appeared at his castle, deep in the woods, entirely out of nowhere. Though Duncan was not a man...