Sheriff Brown is the central character of the Claire Creek stories. Although no one character other than the town itself appears in every story, every primary character interacts with the Sheriff at some point during the series. His symbolic role as the executer of the social contract in Claire Creek makes him the symbol of the community’s best and worst binding common characteristics.

All alone in a dream
A field of grass
A broken down shack
I lie on my back
Making pictures out of clouds
On the canvas of the sky
With the brush of my mind
And always I see
Images of you
Dancing
With my soul
In your hands
I refuse to stand
For that might break
The illusion
That I’m happy where I am
The wind plays
Soft silly symphonies
In the auditorium of
My cranium
Yet I hear only
The sad lackadaisical refrain
Of your voice
Caressing my brain
The thought
That one must know joy
to comprehend pain
Does not escape me
I remain
Firmly
Planted on the ground
arms too short
To reach my heart
A blind man
Attempting art
The minds’ eye sees so clearly
That which reality won’t allow
Take a moment
Just breath
Sometimes it’s the simple things
Pictures out of clouds.
-J. Brown

In a native land
Foreign tongues
Gossip of god
“he’ll be coming any day”
There is no escape
From TRUTH
This is the story
This is the glory
“You’re all going to die
And be judged
And suffer eternally
Unless you get on your knees and beg for love and mercy”
Who ya kiddin jack
Ain’t no diety on the attack
One soul
One creation
One more piece of bacon,
“mmmmmm…bacon”
Don’t give me choices
And then ask me not to make them
Don’t give me freedom
And then ask for servitude
Cuz’ that’s just plain rude
Thanks for the morning
Thanks for the evening
Thanks for the 5 senses and the stimulation
I’ll see you when it’s over
No promises on my behavior
After all
I’m just a man
With a portion of the soul
Of the creator
contained
in a stimuli receptor
-J. Brown