Swiggers by Joey Pinkney

Perhaps because I'm known as a change of life baby I immediately liked the old man pictured on the e-book. His picture made me laugh. I remembered visiting a small town where old men did sit on the bench in front of the store and talk and laugh and whistle at passing girls. So, the short-short story became a bit of personal nostalgia."Swiggers" by Joey Pinkney is a quick, lighthearted story. Swiggers also involves serious issues about change in our life experiences.

I especially felt sad when the men lost their outdoor meeting place and other changes took place. The tree is cut down which shaded them. Abdul, the new owner, has to make the hard decision about how to make the store more welcoming to other customers like women. Ladies don't especially like to walk past men who ogle them and joke. It makes me uncomfortable.

I would have liked to learn more about Abdul, the new store owner. Was it easy for him to fit in to the new community? I also would have liked a description of the town. Joey Pinkney gives a lengthy answer to questions the reader might pose. As much as I know, I like to think of myself as worldly wise, I didn't think of Swiggers name as a nickname for drinking. The word is swig. It just proves our reading minds always miss something. There is also a derogative race name that rhymes with Swiggers. I didn't think of it either until the author explained and gave an apology of sorts. By the way, I especially liked Pete Johnson, the Viet Nam veteran.joeypinkney.com