Wandering Shop Stories 101

Prompt Word: Smut DISCLAIMER: This is not fiction, it’s history. My real history. It was the 90s. Phone entertainment lines were at their peak. Celebrities shilled for psychic readings on mainstream outlets. Chat lines were shilled in the back of magazines. Microsoft had product support at the end of a 900 number. The backbone of it all was smut for lonely men. Gay men, straight men, there was a line to cater to what lonely men wanted....

5 Jul 2026 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink

Wandering Shop Stories 100

Prompt Word: Carbon #wss366 (carbon) (1/1) S: Now, this one is exactly what you are looking for. Fully tested and functional. M: Has it been tested for landing on a terrestrial planet? S: Absolutely. M: I’ve heard enough. Mark walked away to find another ship yard. Xib followed along, “Why did you walk away, seemed like a great deal.” M: There was no carbon scoring anywhere on that thing, it’s never seen atmosphere....

1 Jul 2026 · 1 min · Gary Allen Vollink

Wandering Shop Stories 99

Prompt word: Ink Drew opened the door, to see a group of men in dark suits, “Hello?” A county sherrif stepped up from the back of the group, and handed him a piece of paper, “You have been served notice to vacate the premises.” “Wait, what? Isn’t this my house now?” Drew protested. A thin, short man held up his hand, and said, “This real property is now under the ownership of Brickell Finance....

30 Jun 2026 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink

Wandering Shop Stories 98

Prompt Word: Water #wss366 (water) (1/1) The morning sun sparkled on the water of Long Island Sound. The seagull, spotting its prey, left the water behind and swooped into the parking lot, snagging a bacon and egg biscuit with only one bite out of it directly out of Kim’s hand. Kim turned away from the water and walked into her job at the sorting facility, realizing that she was going to be hungry today....

9 Jun 2026 · 1 min · Gary Allen Vollink