Someone said "love one another." And following generations preached, scribed, and proselytized the words. Translated, retranslated, exegeted the words. Built a #mythos around the words. Schismed, fought, killed for the words. So much easier than living those words. #vss365

"What's more dangerous than a locked room of angry jurors?" "This is serious," the foreman chided. "Beyond a reasonable #doubt." But the self-help writer was stuck on 'doubt'. The pulp author was hung up on 'reasonable'. And the sci-fi novelist was lost in 'beyond'. #vss365

Love the costume! MY ROBES ARE WOVEN OF TIME ITSELF. Neat. Who do you rep? I COME TO LEAD YOU ACROSS THE BLACK VEIL TO JOIN THE DANSE MACABRE. On-stage dance troupe? Nice. For what term? AD AETERNUM. Oh, not sure I can make that #commitment. Other offers, see… #vss365

"Found this old photo," she said. Two dorky kids at a beige computer. "We were so young!" "Remember those weekends? 2 AM in my mom's basement, #fueled on cheese pizza and soda…" "…playing Quake on home-built gaming rigs." "We were machines." "We built them, too." #vss365

Therapist: Tell me about your dreams. Me: I dreamed that beardless Riker in a Picard uniform was psychoanalyzing bearded Riker in a DS9 uniform. Therapist: I... see. Me: What does it mean? Therapist: It means you're still dreaming. Me: Wha--

When Intel said that Phase 1 was infiltrating a Visitor spaceship, I had… doubts. Telepathic. Paralytic. Weapons are useless. They scan your #nervous system and know your thoughts. But they can't know Phase 2, because neither do I. (Oh God I hope there's a Phase 2.) #vss365

My daughter worries. Visitors come and go; she stays by my bedside. "Mama was here," I say. She pats my hand. "Grandpa too. You remember? We talked a while." "Yeah?" Her voice breaks. "What did he say?" "To have faith. I've been #training so long… today matters." #vss365

I woke with a smile from a dream of her white #sneakers by the door. A sigh as I opened my eyes to sunlight filtering through colorful leaves. It should be cloudy, I thought. Bare feet hit cool hardwood. Flannel weather. #vss365

Orange. Orange. Eagerly I scratched the last square. Grape. I sighed, tossed the card in the garbage. A shriek nearby. A woman ran past, both hands full of Skittles. "I won! I won!" I wondered at a cruel world where only the elite could taste the rainbow. #vss365 #lottery

"This is an unexpected surprise!" He looked at her. His parents and friends gathered around. The cake with candles on the table. "Maybe I should put on my pants." #vss365 #unexpected

Old man Carruthers spent his career at this company. Never vacationed farther than the break room. No one knew him to take a sick day. First in, last out. Always said "I'll work till I'm #dead." But we didn't expect him to keep coming after. We're a little creeped out. #vss365

"Gosh, Captain Zoom, I wish I had your superpowers! And your bravery!" "Jimmy, #bravery isn't outrunning a speeding bullet and crime-fighting in a costume. It's pushing on even when you're scared." "What scares you, Captain Zoom?" He thought. Shuddered. "Butterflies." #vss365

Sometimes at night I lie awake. Stare into the darkness. Listen to the noises of the house. The whir of the fan. The tick-tock of the wall clock. The thump-thump-thump of cat feet zooming down the hall. I don't have a cat. I pull the covers over my head. #vss365 #sound

What began as a faint glow at the leading edges of the #delta wing-body had brightened into an enveloping orange sheath. "How does it feel to be the fastest pilot alive?" asked control. I smiled. Yet cruising at the edge of the atmosphere, I longed for a clearer view. #vss365

"Detective? To what do I owe the pleasure?" "Chief tells me I'm barking up the wrong tree." "And are you?" She smiled. Her blue dress shimmered under neon light. "May be…" All I knew… she was the #calm eye of the storm. Wherever chaos broke out, she was dead center. #vss365

#vss365 For her it was Tuesday A pleasant conversation with someone familiar It was no big deal. …and she acted like… "I like you" were words that needed saying As he felt the seas rise and the earth #quake For him it was the world turned upside-down

"A Dalmatian in a firetruck." "What‽" "Maybe with a cute little red collar. Howling along with the #siren. Brave firefighters answering a call." "A Dalmatian in a…" "All black and white, and red all over…" "No, kid. The answer is 'a newspaper'." "A what‽" #vss365

When the devil whispers in her ear… she whispers sweet nothings back, until her sultry suggestions turn his face red. No stranger to scandal -- the stranger the better, she says. Midnight is her finest hour, and she has no time for unoriginal #sin. #vss365

We three set sail in a boat one night Jimmy and Kimmy and me Traveled the river of moonglade light Out to the crystal sea Beached on an #island with sand so white Where no other eyes might see Jimmy and Kimmy came home all right None know what became of me #vss365

With meticulous care we hoist a #sail no hurricane will ever touch. Delicate, thinner than thin, it catches the starlight. Our ship sets forth through the infinite black ocean, riding on a sunbeam. Discovering where day meets night. Nothingness and everything. #vss365