Five Minutes in America

Tony Michaels
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Fiction
  • Updated Daily

Five-minute American stories about ordinary people, shared responsibility, and the constitutional principles that bind us together. Written and told by Tony Michaels. www.thecoffmanchronicle.com

  1. 1h ago

    Mercer’s Corner Market

    Come inside Mercer’s Corner Market, where Earl makes change, June wraps sandwiches, and each has suggestions about how the other could improve. T.C., Blue, Roy, and Glenn have stopped for lunch before riding down Main Street. Pull up a seat with them. There’s an old coffee table with a story in its worn finish, and Earl would be happy to recommend the potato salad. June would prefer he quit giving it away. Enjoying Five Minutes in America? Upgrade to a paid subscription to hear the whole week of stories early and help me keep writing and producing a new story every weekday. Thanks for helping keep these stories coming. Today’s Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    Mercer’s Corner Market

  2. 1d ago

    An Extra Hand

    T.C. has the parts laid out and the tools within reach. He nearly has the motorcycle fixed, too. He’s been nearly there for a little while. Then Blue arrives. Before they can head into town, there’s a muffler to secure, a borrowed wrench to put away, and a little friendly commentary about whether Blue needs a haircut or just a better hat. Enjoying Five Minutes in America? Upgrade to a paid subscription to hear the whole week of stories early and help me keep writing and producing a new story every weekday. Thanks for helping keep these stories coming. Today’s Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    An Extra Hand

  3. 2d ago

    Cecil Is Back

    T.C. steps into Cecil’s shop to ask about a haircut for a friend. He’s carrying a wrench, which gives Cecil something to say before the conversation even gets started. Between the repaired town sign, motorcycle mufflers, and the amount of hair Blue has to offer, there’s plenty to discuss. The customer in the chair would like to hear all of it. Cecil would like him to hold his head straight. Enjoying Five Minutes in America? Upgrade to a paid subscription to hear the whole week of stories early and help me keep writing and producing a new story every weekday. Thanks for helping keep these stories coming. Today’s Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    Cecil Is Back

  4. 3d ago

    One Small Part

    A loose muffler has left T.C.’s motorcycle at home and brought his pickup into town. Inside Warren Pike’s hardware store, there’s a replacement nut, a borrowed wrench, and some unfinished conversation about Cecil Boone. We’ve followed Mitchell and Dudley through these streets. This week, come along with T.C. and see what the same town looks like from a different pair of shoes. Enjoying Five Minutes in America? Upgrade to a paid subscription to hear the whole week of stories early and help me keep writing and producing a new story every weekday. Thanks for helping keep these stories coming. Today’s Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    One Small Part

  5. 6d ago

    Both Wheels

    Mitchell and Dudley ride into town to ask Cecil Boone what he saw the day Dudley’s cousin went down Main Street on one wheel. Before they can reach the barbershop, four motorcycles come down the hill. One rider, Blue, needs a haircut. Cecil objects to the noise outside his window. T.C. Redford helps the riders clear the storefronts, and Blue promises to leave without revving his engine. Cecil lets him wait his turn. The boys marvel at the motorcycles, then ask Cecil about the old bicycle. The cousin really did pass Warren’s hardware store with his front tire in the air. He set it down outside Cecil’s door when a delivery truck eased out below him. He never reached the Minnow Bucket on one wheel. Dudley decides the part Cecil saw is still a pretty good story. Paid subscribers receive all five episodes of Five Minutes in America each Saturday in Along the Way, before the stories unfold one day at a time for everyone else. Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com—because every citizen should own the instruction manual. Get yours free today, and keep the Constitution close enough to use. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    Both Wheels

  6. Oct 8

    The Ditch

    The flat tire is patched, so Mitchell and Dudley ride to a wide drainage ditch outside Coffman’s Landing. Its bottom is dry, and its banks are gentle enough to ride down and climb again. To the boys, it is practically a bicycle park. They begin measuring each other’s climbs by a clump of grass and then a pale rock. Mitchell fixes his eyes on getting higher than Dudley. He doesn’t hear the truck on the gravel road beyond the far bank until Dudley warns him. When Mitchell finally sees it, he presses back on his pedals. His tire skids in the loose dirt, and he tumbles into the ditch. The scrape on his knee will heal. The question about Dudley’s cousin—and the truck in that story—can wait until Cecil Boone opens his barbershop tomorrow. Paid subscribers receive all five episodes of Five Minutes in America each Saturday in Along the Way, before the stories unfold one day at a time for everyone else. Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com—because every citizen should own the instruction manual. Get yours free today, and keep the Constitution close enough to use. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    The Ditch

  7. Oct 7

    Two Roads

    Mitchell and Dudley still disagree about which bicycle is better, so they settle on a race. On a smooth street, Mitchell’s red bicycle reaches the oak tree first. Dudley asks for another course: a gravel lane outside town, where he knows which tracks are packed hard and which stones will roll beneath a tire. This time Dudley wins. A moment later, a bit of wire flattens Mitchell’s rear tire. The boys walk to Jack Floyd’s shed for a patch kit and a pump. Finding the leak takes longer than either race, but they get the tire holding air again. From the top of Main Street, they can see the drainage ditch they’ll try tomorrow. They can also see the hill in Dudley’s cousin’s story. Paid subscribers receive all five episodes of Five Minutes in America each Saturday in Along the Way, before the stories unfold one day at a time for everyone else. Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com—because every citizen should own the instruction manual. Get yours free today, and keep the Constitution close enough to use. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    Two Roads

  8. Oct 6

    One Wheel

    Dudley says his cousin rode the entire Main Street hill on one wheel. Behind the Corner Market, he and Mitchell decide to start with a level road and a few fence posts. Dudley’s old bicycle is easier to lift. Mitchell’s red one is easier to bring back down. Each boy counts that as a point in his favor. Then Dudley’s handlebars turn without his front wheel following. The contest stops, and the boys walk their bicycles to Warren Pike’s hardware store. Warren shows Dudley how to straighten and tighten the bars. He helps them quiet the dry chain, too. The wheelie record is still short of the next fence post. Tomorrow, they’ll see what the bicycles can do on two different roads. Paid subscribers receive all five episodes of Five Minutes in America each Saturday in Along the Way, before the stories unfold one day at a time for everyone else. Five Minutes in America is presented by YourPocketConstitution.com—because every citizen should own the instruction manual. Get yours free today, and keep the Constitution close enough to use. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/subscribe

    One Wheel
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About

Five-minute American stories about ordinary people, shared responsibility, and the constitutional principles that bind us together. Written and told by Tony Michaels. www.thecoffmanchronicle.com

Information

  • Creator
    Tony Michaels
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Tony Michaels
  • Show Website
    Five Minutes in America

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