How daring life is.  What chances it takes.  Green bottle flies lay their unborn in shit in the middle of a highway, and chipmunks lope through the tenuous branches of trees on the edges of cliffs.  And how resilient life.  Apollo astronauts landing on the moon brought with them streptococci bacteria.  The bacteria were accidentally released onto the surface of a lunar probe before launch.  When the bacteria were brought back to earth on the surface of the vehicle, through freezing space and blazing reentry into the earth’s atmosphere, all they needed was a little TLC and they sprang back to life. Maybe life’s resilience allows it to take chances.  Maybe I’m more durable than I know.  So I don’t have to be afraid to take risks. The flies, to our chagrin, are born on the highway.  The chipmunks don’t slip off the edge.

© 2022 by Michael C. Just

Mike’s novel, The Dirt: The Journey of a Mystic Cowboy, is available in softcover or eBook formats through Amazon.

You can purchase the book through this website. Or go straight to amazon at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+dirt+journey+of+a+mystic+cowboy&crid=1S40Q4BXSUWJ6&sprefix=the+dirt%3A+journey+of+a+m%2Caps%2C180&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_23

Mike’s other titles, including The Crippy, The Mind Altar, and Canyon Calls, are available through this website or through Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002

Four of his short stories have recently been published online:

Lies, Ltd. has been published by The Mystery Tribune @ Lies, Ltd.: Literary Short Fiction by Michael C. Just (mysterytribune.com)

The Obligate Carnivore has been published by the Scarlet Leaf Review @ Category: MICHAEL JUST – SCARLET LEAF REVIEW

I See You, Too has been published by the 96th of October @ I See You, Too – 96th of October

Offload, a short story about a man who can heal any disease, is now live and can be read at The Worlds Within at Offload – The Worlds Within