Okay, this may not go anywhere, or I may pick it up tomorrow. I’m not making any promises.

*************************

                Kevin Strickland stepped out of the shower and padded across the sandstone to the oval mirror that hung above his wife’s antique vanity. Though he despised the term “metrosexual,” Kevin was a slave to his morning grooming rituals. After shaving, he applied moisturizer and then and anti-aging gel just below his eyes. He filed his nails and checked his eyebrows for wild hairs. As he was cleaning his ears with a Q-tip, the Vivaldi on his favorite classical station was interrupted by a news bulletin.

                He listened. He panicked.

Ten minutes later, Kevin was loading his Saab with hastily packed suitcases. Though he had snorted some powdered courage, he was still shaking. The 101 would be a parking lot, but he didn’t care. He just needed to move – to lose himself in a crowd. It was the only way he would feel safe.

Twenty minutes into his drive, he realized that coke had not been a bright idea. He was already scared and on edge, the rails were pushing him right through to paranoia. He could see the Golden Gate just ahead, but traffic was at a standstill. He could feel time bearing down on him and imagined himself in a monster truck, driving over the mile of cars standing between him and a beeline to Washington State.

The honking horn of a landscaper’s pickup jolted Kevin out of his fantasy just as the bass of a passing car’s stereo joined the assault on his ears. He rolled his window up and turned on his own radio, tuning it to the only news station he could think of. Whoever was speaking – some young punk with a whole menu of degrees both honorary and earned – was ranting about the homelessness problem and the current administration’s apparent lack of concern. He turned the volume down and cursed.

Every car the pulled alongside him seemed sinister. Each glance from passengers and driver’s alike seemed malicious, even sinister. His sweaty palms felt sticky on the leather-wrapped steering wheel.