A writing experiment


Dr. Steve at the Gala 2017!

Dr. Steve got to the gala way early, with an open eye for Rivers, his secret crush.  He knew she was working on the music, and he thought she might be there early, but when he got there, he found that Violet Hammond there, busy body of the year, barking orders at everyone.  Dr. Steve looked at Otis, who was rolling his eyes at her last command to move the bandstand at this late hour and to adjust tables after that.  Adelaine was doing her best to keep everyone happy and on an even keel.  But Rivers wasn’t there.  Disappointed, Dr. Steve found Andy setting out food trays and he eyed the food, wanting to snitch an hors d’oeuvre, out of nervousness, rather than anything.  He didn’t smoke and didn’t drink, so he was fidgeting.  Then, he began to look for people he knew—clients, perhaps.

At the gala, Dr. Steve, even as cute as he might be, was a social klutz.  So when the music began, he drifted over to Andy and the food table to hover and pick pick in his nervousness, avoiding the dancing.  That was when some of the ladies decided to try to persuade him, and he was saying, No, no, and pulling away, so that one would wonder how could this Nervous Nellie be a town psychologist who actually would help someone.  He seemed like the one who needed coaching!

Then, as the ladies were trying to drag him onto the dance floor, he saw Rivers enter—a vision of loveliness—and wearing red shoes!  Everyone knows that red is a turn-on for most men, and even a socially inept person like Dr. Steve is no different.   But, from afar, he could see that the look on Rivers’ face was not happy.  She was scouting the room for her secret crush—and even though she had confessed she had one to Dr. Steve—Dr. Maynard never knew who the crush was.  Now, she had an unpleasant look on her face.  He saw her looking over at Otis, and then she wrinkled her nose in distaste at something.  He saw her draw herself up proudly, gather herself together, and just then, their eyes met.  Suddenly, she brightened, and Dr. Steve felt his heart skip a beat.  The crowd parted as she made her way towards him with confidence and mission. 

Rivers came right up to him, grabbed his hands, and said, “Doctor!  It’s so good to see you!  Come dance with me!”  She was already swaying.

Dr. Steve looked awkward and confused and shy.  He didn’t know what to do.  He looked around and saw the other ladies laughing, and finally one said, “Go on, Doc!” 

He allowed Rivers to take his hand and pull him onto the dance floor, and since he didn’t know what to do, she just said, “C’mon, Steve!  May I call you that?  Just do this!” and she began to teach him how to move back and forth easily in rhythm to the music.  She held onto his shoulders the whole time, and he could feel himself getting red, especially when the dance was over, and she kissed him on the cheek!  Then, she ran off to the food and drink tables.  Dr. Steve was stunned.

Just then, he ran into the Reverend Tommy Runningwater, who smiled broadly at him and commented, “Looks like you are having a good time, Doctor!  Me, too!”  Was it his imagination, or did the tee-totaling reverend smell like whisky? The Reverend passed by, and Dr. Steve made his way off the dance floor to Otis. 

“Wow, Doc!  I didn’t know you could dance!  You dog, you!”  Otis then turned around and went over to talk to the barista Ally Twofeathers.  The two of them went off to the drinks table together.

Just then, he saw Anatole Allred, who came over with big eyes and a flirtatious manner.  “Hi, Doctor!  How are you doing this evening?  You look spiffy tonight.  How about a dance?”  She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him.

“Fine, I’m fine, Mrs. Allred.  No, no thank you.  Where is your husband this evening?”  That was a hint.

“Oh, he’s home reading his books, as usual.  Says all this is nonsense, but I am looking for some fun.  Are you fun, Dr. Maynard?”  Anatole sidled up to Dr. Steve and leaned against him.  Again, he pulled away.

“No.  I mean, this is a lovely evening.  Well, tell Cole we missed him!”

Dr. Steve was just about to turn and head towards the food and drink buffet, when Rivers came up behind him, saving him from Anatole Allred.  “C’mon, Steve, let’s get something to eat!”  Anatole shot Rivers a nasty look and turned on her heel to see who else was in the room with which to dance.

Rivers and Dr. Steve got some appetizers, and Rivers said, “Hey, let’s go up there to the balcony and watch everything going on!”  And so they did!  They could see everything going on in the room, and it was fascinating to watch!

Christmas 2016 with Dr. Steve


This Christmas, Dr. Steve is going to spend at home with his cat Nelson.  He plans to drive down to see his folks in Sun City after Christmas, spend a few days, and come back before New Year’s Eve.  He really doesn’t want to be at their house at New Year’s in case they get to drinking, so he will light out of there early.  Meanwhile, Dr. Steve plans to spend Christmas eve and Christmas at home.  He likes the peacefulness of the season.  He throws a string of lights over the curtain rods of his tall windows, puts out a pre-decorated and pre-lit table size tree, gets out his indoor George Foreman grill and will make a steak for Christmas eve, with a spinach salad and an eggnog.  He puts on Christmas chorales, the Hallelujah chorus, the Nutcracker, and other Christmasy classical music, serves Nelson a can of tuna, and fixes his meal before settling down to read holy books.  This is something Dr. Steve does every Christmas season, but he often changes it up—doesn’t have to be the Bible.  This year, he is reading the Urantia book about Jesus’ life, but there have been times when he read the Vedas, the Torah, even the Egyptian Book of the Dead at Christmastime.  December is a time for spiritual tomes, in Dr. Steve’s mind, and he continues to delve until King’s Day, January 6th, the day the three kings showed up bearing gifts for Baby Jesus.  He also goes to church on Christmas, and Dr. Steve is an equal opportunity church-goer.  He visits different churches at different times, just to experience the diversity.  He prefers to go to churches to which he can walk, so this year, he’ll go to the Catholic mass, even though he’s not Catholic.  Dr. Steve is considered a community personality, a good-hearted egghead oddball, and so he is welcomed at city churches.  Every once in awhile, folks try to convert him and get him to commit—some folks notice what churches he goes to the most and have a bet on which one he’ll join.  Dr. Steve won’t.  He likes them all, and he gives to them all.  He enjoys the way churches make him feel, and he enjoys the people and the fellowship, so he looks forward to church at Christmastime.  There’s a holy feel to it, and besides, he’s friends with the pastors, preachers, and priests.  If there were a temple in Reno City, he’d probably go there too, if they’d have him.  That’s just Dr. Steve.

On Christmas day, Dr. Steve heats up tamales.  In Texas, tamales on Christmas day are a staple, and so Dr. Steve adopted this holiday food choice, because he could get them at Braum’s and heat them up in his convection oven.  This and using a crockpot are about the closest Dr. Steve gets to cooking, and since everything is closed on Christmas, tamales have become his Christmas tradition.  Then he always buys himself a book he always wanted, and he settles down in his comfy chair with the music on and Nelson in his lap and digs in to the coveted volume.  A simple Christmas, perfect for a complex guy, with trials and tribulations of the townspeople on his mind. 

Dr. Steve Maynard is a psychotherapist who is OCD.  Steve is a little OCD.  If he gets a magazine, he has to read it from start to finish, which was a habit from childhood—he’d read the family encyclopedia—that huge group of volumes that came in a big wooden piece of furniture—and all the extra books with it: America’s Favorite Poems and all the plays of Shakespeare.   

Steve might remind one of Clark Kent, kinda cute, very huge, but he has no idea that even his nerdiness is cute.Unlike Clark Kent, he is no Superman.In fact, he is a bit of a klutz, and he is obsessed with figuring out everybody and everything.His office is stacked with books and magazines, but they must never be moved. Clients who come to see him aren’t sure if they are going there for him or for themselves, but he is such a nice fellow, that doesn’t matter. They feel better after they leave, because they are convinced they could be weirder—they could be like the good doctor! That comparison is helpful to folks!

Dr. Steve, which is what everybody calls him, is in his forties and a confirmed bachelor. He’s too shy in any normal situation.Like most people, when he is working he is at his best and is not self-conscious. But outside of his office, he is shy and retiring and always makes a beeline for his apartment, which is upstairs from his downtown office. He lives there with his kitty cat Nelson.

An only child, Dr. Steve’s parents live in Sun City, Texas, and he gets to see them at Christmas and other holidays with long weekends. He drives down to see them in his Toyota pick-up that is reminiscent of a tin can. Did I mention that Dr. Steve doesn’t care about money, prestige or looking a certain way? He is very low maintenance, mainly because he is not interested in anything except reading and writing and his clients. He is NOT socially apt, except in his office. He wears the same tweed coat everywhere, and he wears regular collared shirts that he sends to the cleaners and jeans. He doesn’t cook, so he eats out and uses his microwave, and once in a while cooks a pot of soup, because it’s easy. His idea of a good time is receiving a box of books and CDs from Amazon. His favorite music is jazz and classical. 

Who He Is: Dr. Steve Maynard

Valentine's Day

with Dr. Steve


Dr. Steve is considering sending a Rivers Fox some anonymous flowers for Valentine’s day.  He sat in the row two of the church last Sunday feeling the deep vibrations of the church organ slither up his spine and cause kundalini rising as he gazed placidly on the lovely countenance of Rivers the church organist.  Only problem is, he knows Rivers has a crush on someone because she’s as much as confessed so when she came to see him recently, and she was clearly talking about someone else.  In fact, he has a sad and sneaking suspicion that she has a crush on Otis, lucky fella.  While he is happy for his friend, he himself has now realized he has a longing for her.  He didn’t realize it until that Sunday when she played an especially pounding few bars of music, and the depth of the music hit him right at the base of his spine.  Suddenly, she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her before.