My belly in the gutter to a life worth living
Song for My Baby and Other Stories is best described as a work with great variety. What begins with the sudden demise of a father on a hunting trip, transforms into a collection that deals with mental illness, hitting bottom, and an appreciation for those who stick around in the worst of times. Bremicker takes readers for a ride with no degree of certainty: From a high stakes golf game to pay off a son’s cocaine debt, a dating service that results in twelve dates in twelve months, a kidney transplant, a heart attack, a relapse on alcohol, to years in and out of psych wards and veterans’ homes, the book shifts gears from story to story. Song for My Baby and Other Stories is available from Unsolicited Press at http://www.unsolicitedpress.com.
Life After Mental Illness
Eagle Claw and Other Stories amazes readers with its variety. The title story is a fictional account of the aborted attempt by the U.S. Army’s Special Forces to free the hostages held in Tehran during the Carter administration. Tales of a road trip where the author gets his block knocked off, a duck hunt in the middle of the northern flight, and cleaning his shotgun describe a life on a road less traveled. Stories of heat exhaustion, skin cancer, and cravings for alcohol reveal his precarious health. Memories of catfishing on the Mississippi River, downhill skiing, and a milelong road, where he always shot a grouse, tell of lifelong passions. Yarns of a rock concert that causes suicidal thoughts, a patriotic party at a hi-rise, and a dentist who ruins his teeth bring out his unique voice. The forty-one stories seem commonplace, until you read the way Bremicker tells them. Eagle Claw and Other Stories is due as an eBook from Unsolicited Press www.unsolicitedpress.com April 6, 2021.
“It took me four hours before I drove to the emergency room for my first heart attack,” I said. “My second heart attack was not an emergency.”
“Go ahead.”
“If we could hang in there until we got to the access we could make it.”
“In other words, call 911, leave the decoys, and head for the access.”
“Yes!” I shouted, to make my point.
“I carry nitroglycerin.”
“So do I.”
“Let’s go to the ceremony.”
–Pelican Lake
BIOGRAPHY
Christopher G. Bremicker was a Special Forces medic stationed at Ft. Bragg NC from 1968 to 1970. He has a BA in English and a Master’s in Business Administration, both from the University of Minnesota. He is a newspaperman, downhill skier, and grouse hunter. He reviews theater and plays handball. He is a sales associate at Walgreen’s in St. Paul MN, his forty-sixth job since high school and his hometown is Cable WI.
