Chill Unc's Story Time

Stacy Heads to the Coffee Shop

2026-09-21T00:00:00-04:00

The streets were quiet. That was normal at 5 AM. Even the pigeons were asleep. Stacy walked slowly, enjoying the stillness.

The coffee shop was three blocks from the train station.

The shop was a calm place. She enjoyed working there. The dress code was pretty casual. Stacy wore a plain t-shirt and jeans. Her sneakers were quiet on the pavement.

She passed a clothing store that she had shopped in once. They had a really warm looking sweater. It turned out to be as good as advertised. It was great for opening early during Spring.

But it was Summer, so she didn't need it today. It was actually early Summer. She hadn't packed away that sweater yet. There were a few other items that she needed to pack away for the season. She could handle that when she got home later.

There were no cars in the road, so Stacy crossed the first street.

The next block featured a small book store. Stacy liked that the store was near the coffee shop. They sold used books. Stacy had bought a bunch to decorate the coffee shop. She couldn't recall titles or subjects. The coffee shop had neutral beige walls. She bought books with neutral grey covers to match.

There were five shelves in the coffee shop. Each held about eight to ten books. Stacy visited the book store twice a week. She could usually find one or two books to add to the collection.

Looking at books was a nice way to pass time.

There was a good collection in the shop now. Stacy would look at those books during quiet times at the shop. The shop was nice when it was quiet. It never really got too busy.

The bell at the door made the gentlest sound when people passed through.

Ting ting. It was so soft, she barely heard it some times.

Stacy stopped at the second street. She looked left, right, then left again. There were no cars, so she crossed.

She enjoyed the early morning commute. No cars or foot traffic made for an easy walk.

The next block had a furniture store.

They had nice throw pillows on display.

The shop could use some new pillows.

Stacy's couch would also benefit.

The couch itself was in good shape. She'd bought it years ago and had been gentle with it. She enjoyed laying on it to watch TV. She liked to sink into that part where the seat and backrest meet. It was like snuggling with the couch. Stacy found that she would gradually wedge into that spot. Over the course of a few episodes. She hardly noticed it was happening. She didn’t mind. She really liked it.

Then she would settle in and take a nap.

Mmmmm.

It was firm and strong and secure.

And safe.

Stacy could just close her eyes and drift off.

She hugged her floofy pillow a little tighter.

And slowly fell asleep.

Battle Royale

2026-09-15T00:00:00-04:00

I don't remember when exactly I got introduced to Battle Royale. The Director's Cut DVD dropped in Nov 2004. Kill Bill released in theaters in 2003 and the DVD in April 2004. In all likelihood, I probably picked up Battle Royale while on my Chiaki Kuriyama kick. I mean, Japanese horror phase. (Ok, I might have a thing for crazy chicks.) The movie also features Beat Takeshi, of whom I'm also a fan. I think I still have a copy of Brother, his movie with Omar Epps.

Side note: The first Hunger Games book came out in 2008. I don't want to wade into that war here, but if you know, you know.

Battle Royale is one of those movies that sticks with you, in a very Lord of the Flies kinda way. It raises questions on the limits of personal loyalty and relationships in extreme circumstances. Part of the novelty for me was that this was a different type of horror. It wasn't like the monster or slasher movies that I was used to. This was about the horrors that people are capable of visiting upon each other. The government program, the adults, and even the students themselves.

The lighthouse scene is particularly memorable.

Soon after watching this movie, I went to paintball for the first time. We had a large group of people, some I didn't know, because that's how you make a private rental cost-effective. Everyone dressed in camo coveralls and took a large group photo.

Kinda like the class photo in the movie.

And then we went into the woods to shoot each other. Yeah, they're not real bullets and no one was getting hurt, but the movie's images kept playing in my head. Like, could we ever end up in a world where I will have to consider killing a friend in the name of survival? Or them me? Mind you, I have good friends. They've never done anything to make me think they'd hurt me. But that's one of the points. We're talking about people in extreme circumstances.

That was back in 2004. Now we're in 2026 and it's like, "Um. Yeah. Maybe."

Tom in the Lavender Field

2026-09-12T00:00:00-04:00

Tom lay in the lavender field on a warm, partially sunny day. Many people prefer sunny days, but partially sunny was actually pretty nice too. You get sun for a bit, but you get relief from the clouds.

Tom closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth from the sun. It felt like a soft blanket. The warm breeze rustled the lavender around him. The scent was soft and pleasant. It reminded him there was laundry to fold later.

Tom still separated his laundry into piles of white and colors. He found it somewhat relaxing. It wasn't usually much effort, but there was a pretty good benefit to it. There was no stress about whether or not his green shirt would tint his socks. Not having stress seemed like a worthwhile pursuit.

There was a cooling sensation on Tom's skin, so he opened his eyes to watch the clouds pass by. There were a few puffy ones. None had any real distinct shape. Sometimes he could make out an animal shape. They didn't usually look like people or faces he recognized. Sometimes other people would mention other shapes they saw. On this day though, Tom just saw puffy cotton in the sky.

And that was fine.

Clouds are free to be clouds. These clouds weren't even in a rush. Tom had originally thought this particular cloud would block the sun for about 2 minutes, but now it was looking more like 5. Or was it because two clouds had merged?

In any case, the clouds weren't in a rush and neither was Tom.

The tree on the top of the hill would make a nice place to rest next time. Tom made a note to visit this field again. He liked this place. There weren't any other people around. It was pretty quiet. The breeze was gentle. The sun was peaking out again.

Tom liked this place.

His belly rose and fell with each breath. He enjoyed inhaling as the breeze blew. It filled him with a lightness. As he exhaled, Tom appreciated the firmness of the earth beneath him.

The land was rich in nutrients. The flowers grew every year without fail. They liked this place also. There was a warm sun.

Good for plants.

Good for people.

And a really nice breeze.

Lavender is supposed to be calming. Tom had tried it in his tea once. It was pretty mild. He could understand why some people enjoy it. He would probably drink it again if it was offered.

It might be nice to cut some lavender to bring home.

He had a nice vase at home that he wasn't doing anything with. Some lavender could go in there. Might be nice on the dining table. Or maybe the living room window.

Tom's living room had a big bay window. It also got good sunlight. It was big enough that Tom could put a cushion in the window and rest there. The sun was always warm there. It was a good place to read a book.

It was pretty good on rainy days, too.

And the windows had held up pretty well over the years. They didn't seem to need to be replaced any time soon. The previous owners of his house had done a pretty good job.

Tom was happy with his house.

Tevin Campbell's I'm Ready

2026-09-08T00:00:00-04:00

I first heard Tevin Campbell watching a music video for "Round and Round", which was featured on the "Graffiti Bridge" soundtrack. I didn't actually watch the movie, but my sister was an avid Prince fan at the time. I was a fan, too, but she took it up a couple notches. In any case, good music, iffy movie.

"I'm Ready" dropped in 1993. I was in 9th grade. "Can We Talk" was the radio hit that everyone sang and every girl I knew would swoon over it. I was about 14 years old, and Tevin was like 16 or something at the time. It was easy for the girls to imagine he was singing to them.

As popular as "Can We Talk" was, "Shhh" was the one the kids talked about in class. Everyone was going through puberty and sex was on our minds often. I don't know if that's still the case with the current generation. Social media tells me kids aren't interested in sex, alcohol, or any of the things that were waiting for us "when we were ready". But being a teenager, you always think you're ready. There were rumors of kids hooking up then, but I wasn't involved in any of that. Girls didn't find me interesting.

Some girls in my class commented that the song was bad for Tevin's image. It was a 180 from the clean and approachable image that had been presented to that point. Not everyone was keen to go beyond holding hands and late night phone calls. In hindsight, it's probably an example of the record label over-sexualizing a teenage boy, much the same way they do with female pop idols. And he was working with Prince, so... yeah.

"Don't Say Goodbye, Girl" also got plenty of play, but "I'm Ready" is the song that has stuck with me throughout the years. On the surface, it's a common story of someone in love with another who doesn't quite return their feelings. Usually, the couple go their separate ways. Maybe one person longs for the other from a distance. Maybe the other person realizes they were better off with the first person. Maybe they get back together or maybe it all blows up in glorious flames. What was different about "I'm Ready" is that this boy is patiently giving his partner space. To grow? To get some things out of her system? Who knows. The point is the other person probably actually does return some feelings, but isn't quite ready to commit.

And in high school I was pretty sure I was ready. We always think we're ready. And we're usually wrong. I've met maybe one person who married their high school sweetheart and they seemed... content. So it happens, but usually not. At 14, 15, 16 years old you have no idea what life has in store for you. Our lives were just beginning, but we were so eager to show that we're already grown.

I was with my first girlfriend for 10 years. We learned the hard way that committing to a relationship required sacrifice and grit. Staying together for the sake of it doesn't usually pay off in the long run. At some point, you just make each other miserable. Sure enough, we ended up hurting each other.

The thing is, you're never ready. The only way to be ready is to go through the experience, take your lumps, and learn from it. And sometimes that only happens because you've told yourself you are ready. That might seem contradictory, but it's how we work up the nerve to do hard things that we've never done before.

And there's no end to the list of hard things I need to do.

She Told Me to Write Something

2026-08-25T00:00:00-04:00

She lay in the hospital bed after fighting for her life. Such moments tend to make people reflect on things. I guess she was reflecting on leaving something behind. She told me to write something.

This is something.

I've periodically thought about what I'd leave behind. I have a lot of clutter. Someone will have to deal with the crap I have stashed away in the attic and basement. Sometimes I think I should get rid of some of this stuff. Sometimes I want to get rid of all of it. But I don't. Why exactly do we hold on to anything?

I'm glad you asked.

I'll tell you exactly why I kept something. Or at least a share the justification I used to rationalize it.