Jim Stitzel
Jack-of-All-Trades, Master of WordsExcerpts from Life
Unexpected Pathways
This past week has been a whirlwind of the unexpected. I started a new job at Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., something I never anticipated I ever do. I've avoided anything to do with factory work over the last three years as I've fought my battle with anxiety...
On Church Shopping and Unexpected Surprises
For the past year, I've been on the hunt for a new church home. Having settled myself in a new town and worked to re-orient my life to be centered here as much as possible, I started out by visiting several local churches. In every case, I ended up feeling...
New Day, Familiar Anxiety
I move about my morning routine with a familiarity that has come from months of habit. I get up, make my bed, get dressed, get breakfast. I pop a fresh K-cup into my Keurig and wait as it brews up the cup of coffee that has now become a regular part of my daily...
Fiction
The Scratch
It started out as a scratch. A cat scratch, at that. The crazy kitty lanced a slash across my forearm that was deep enough to bleed. I washed it with soap and water and thought that was the end of it. Then I woke up in the night to the scratch burning and itching like...
Singing in the Dark
I walked narrow, dusky corridors alone. I no longer heard your laugh, but somehow I knew you were okay. You were built for these passageways, in a way I never was. I knew I’d find you eventually, though. It was just a matter of time and patience. Then I heard your...
Blob
Expelled. That was the only word Jace could think of as he heaved the large, blackish-brown mass out of his stomach and onto the ground. It smelled like toxic waste and looked even worse. And just seconds before, that thing had been inside of him. He suppressed a...