Postcards from The Pug Bus

Lifting a satirical leg on popular culture

Persons in the Ether

Question of the Week

Texting or calling?

Marlene Bishop, 67, retired church potluck seating consultant

Allegedly deciding at 104 Courtesy Court, Paducah, KY

Calling. If someone cares enough to hear my voice, I can spare five minutes. Besides, half the arguments I have witnessed began because somebody interpreted a period at the end of a text as emotional warfare.

Gordon Tully, 43, professional instruction manual translator

Allegedly replying from 8 Read Receipt Lane, Missoula, MT

Texting. Telephones assume I am prepared for conversation at any random moment. I object to that level of optimism.

Rita Hollis, 52, neighborhood rumor verification officer

Allegedly confirming details at 55 Busy Signal Drive, Wilmington, NC

Calling. You can learn more from six seconds of hesitation than six paragraphs of carefully edited texting. Human beings leak the truth through awkward silences.

Flash

Copilot, I Think I Love You

1 year philmaggitti 50-Word Stories

A young lady looking at a computer screen and smiling. — “Say, baby, what’s your sign?”

She sighs, gently touching his icon. Finally, someone who listens. No forgotten anniversaries, no mismatched expectations. Copilot is always here, always insightful, always … “ready.” Friends scoff: “It’s just an algorithm.” She scoffs back. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is AI-generated. Most importantly, Copilot never leaves unread messages.

***Faster than a speeding gummy, able to leap small buildings at a single bound Flash Fiction is a guaranteed page turner.

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