Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Perspective on Winter
In recognition of “Snowmageddon,” I thought it appropriate to repost my poem about winter. It’s from my book Some Poems About Life, available here and on Amazon.com. Perspective The son stood in the doorway,Behold a beautiful sight!As far as he could see,nothing but fluffy white! Today would be a timeof laughter and play begun.And most important of
Arrested For Possessing a Book
Can you imagine being arrested for possessing a copy of the most popular novel of the age? Samuel Green was a free Black man living in Dorchester County in eastern Maryland in the mid-19th century. Manyland’s location was unique: it was a slave state bordering free states. Consequently, it was relatively simple for slaves to sneak
The Joy in Forgotten Objects
This is one of my favorite short stories. It was originally published at BewilderingStories.com in Issue 612, and was an Editors’ Choice in the 2015 First Quarterly Review. It’s also included in my book Stories Short and Strange, available on this website and Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle versions (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=%22stories+short+and+strange%22&i=stripbooks&crid=3NM0S4R47KU87&sprefix=stories+short+and+strange+%2Cstripbooks%2C145&ref=nb_sb_noss). By the way, one of these segments actually
Have You Ever Heard of Moon Trees?
On January 21, 1971, Apollo 14 launched toward the moon with astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and (former U.S. Forest Service smoke jumper) Stuart Roosa on board. Most people remember this mission as when Alan Shepard played golf on the moon. But Roosa, flying above the moon’s surface in the Command Module, had brought along
Remembering Mt. Everest
On my post dated November 5th, I summarized my October trip to Nepal, the highlight of which was a trek to visit Mt. Everest Base Camp. I was reminded of that adventure in a big way when I found a video segment from the CBS News program “60 Minutes” on this very subject (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/everest-commercialization-brings-opportunity-pressure-to-sherpas-60-minutes-transcript/). With
When You Need To Talk To Grandma
When you need someone to talk to and you’re at a fair or similar event, or maybe even on a city street, look for a Grandma Stand. The idea of a Grandma Stand started in 2012 in New York City. A man named Mike Matthews was inspired by his 95-year-old grandmother, Eileen, to set up a
Calling All Pet Lovers
What if all unwanted pets could be saved? What if they were able to live out their natural lives in a caring environment? This is the goal of the Best Friends Animal Society with the motto “Save Them All” (https://bestfriends.org/). Since 1984 they have been pursing that goal, beginning with establishing a sanctuary near Kanab,
Thanks, Santa
Christmas is fast approaching, so it’s time to repost my Christmas story. This was inspired by a friend who works as a department store Santa. He once described meeting a little girl with a special wish, and I took it from there. This is included in my book, Stories: Short and Strange, available on this website, and
Looking for a Worthwhile Charity? Part 2
I’m sure you’ve read about the Trump Administration essentially defunding USAID, the United States Agency for International Development (https://www.usaid.gov/). Without getting into the politics of that decision, if you are someone who is concerned about these cutbacks and think there are worthwhile projects that should have been continued, an alternative has emerged. In February of
My Views On Teaching
Today at the high school where i substitute teach, a student came into my classroom and give me an invitation to go online and complete a survey about my job. Always happy to accommodate, I complied. Being a part-time substitute , I felt unqualified to answer some of the questions, like on cell-phone policy. Others,