– “Okay, Mr. Spark Plug. Out you come.”

I gave it another dose of penetrating oil, waited, and pulled a little harder.

Howard Pearre lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He attended UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State University and retired after a career as a counselor and manager with NC Vocational Rehabilitation and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. He served in the Army as a paratrooper and is a 5k runner. His essays and fiction have appeared in Flying South, the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Proud To Be, and other publications.