Barbara Gode Wiles
Bio
Barb is a young widow, having lost her husband and best friend at the age of 58. She is now devoted to her two daughters and her two beautiful granddaughters. Her dog is a constant companion.
Stories (23/0)
A Wall Street Alternative
The blood rolled down my arm as I nursed my finger. This was not the first time I had hurt myself with my own hand hammer. I walked over to the doctor’s office to have it sewn up. Doc had his back to the door when I came in. He turned around and smiled. “Again Joshua?” He asked. “Ya doc, this is a good one”. It took eight stitches to close the wound and after thanking doc, I walked back to my blacksmith shop. This order for the Daltons hoe must be done this afternoon. I also have three horses to be shod tomorrow. “Well, better busy than no work at all”, I thought out loud. Some of the farmers had lost their crops to bad weather on the outside of Black River Falls. Such is life in Wisconsin in 1848.
By Barbara Gode Wiles11 months ago in History
A Remarkably Bad Plan
Sheldon closed his office door and walked off into the night. The fire began shortly after he left. Screaming fire engines and police cars arrived shortly thereafter as he sat and thought about the million dollar insurance policy he had purchased eight months ago.
By Barbara Gode Wiles11 months ago in Fiction
Life at 4:00 AM
The two young males, wearing black hoodies and dark jeans, came into the mini-mart about 4:00 am. They walked around the store seeming to shop and then came to the cash register where there stood a young clerk, maybe 25 years old. He couldn’t have weighed more than 150 pounds soaking wet.
By Barbara Gode Wiles12 months ago in Fiction
A Short Heist
Mark left the bank for the final time that night with his ratty briefcase in hand. He held it close to him as he rode the bus toward his pre-planned destination. He had been at that bank for 18 years, without a raise in five years, and they owed him something. Before he left work that night, he had walked into the safe, filled his case with as much cash as possible and walked out.
By Barbara Gode Wiles12 months ago in Fiction
Fantasy Broken
Susan walked across the quad and headed for the student union. Wilmont College was a beautiful place with a beautiful campus. She had loved it when she first arrived here for her freshman year and after she had met Dennis, it was even better. She joked about love at first sight with him, but truly believed that was what happened. “Hey Susan,” Jason yelled at her as he ran to catch up. “Hold your horses. Going to breakfast?” he asked. Susan tried not to let Jason see the tears in her eyes. “I’ll go with you if that’s ok.” Jason was hoping Susan wasn’t mad at him for everything that had happened. “Are you ok?” Jason asked. Susan nodded her head again and swallowed hard before she looked at Jason. “I’m okay. Trying to get back to normal.” Susan started to cry and Jason reached out for her. “I don’t know what’s normal anymore,” Susan sobbed as she reached back for Jason.
By Barbara Gode Wilesabout a year ago in Fiction
Always Just There
Marie smiled as she walked down the aisle to greet her handsome groom. Tugging gently on her arm, Dad said “Don’t run. Make him wait.” Marie’s dad was still concerned that James only wanted her for the trust fund money. Marie had never been a real looker with a great personality so Dad became suspicious when the whirlwind romance with James happened. The reception was a blur but Marie knew she had a good time because her cheeks hurt from smiling. James always seemed to be to good to be true. “Daddy thinks you are only after my money, but I convinced him that’s not true”, she teased. James seemed shocked when she said this and now had to convince her Dad that he was wrong.
By Barbara Gode Wilesabout a year ago in Fiction
Darkness and Light
Becoming aware of the sound of silence, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Where am I?”, I thought. I remember going out with friends last night for drinks at the pub. I think I left around midnight, slightly drunk. Did I make it home? I remember the cab dropping me off at the end of my private road and I walked up the drive. Suddenly, there was someone there. A knife at my throat making one smooth cut. I looked quickly at my killer and mouthed one word. Why? Now I know, death has no light or sound.
By Barbara Gode Wilesabout a year ago in Fiction
I Am Puzzled !
Who knew? This is my latest puzzle which is going to be disassembled and put back it the box for future use. I started puzzling when I was a teen. I wanted something unique for my then young nephew for his 6th birthday. I found a wonderful Muppet puzzle and I wanted him to be able to keep it so I took every piece and glued them together so he could hang it in his room. I did that many more times. They became birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day and every other day gifts. I would imagine I put together at least 100 puzzles. As I grew more addicted to puzzles, I discovered that I liked one particular brand and I think I have kept that company is business for many years. They continue to be my favorites and I still buy puzzles from them. I now, sometimes, have to wait for new releases to add to my collection because I have so many of them. As my puzzle skills grew, I played with different ways to keep them as art and created different shortcuts to gluing them.
By Barbara Gode Wiles3 years ago in Lifehack