Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Collecting Gems of Wisdom
“The nice thing about quotes is that they give us a nodding acquaintance with the originator which is often socially impressive.” — Kenneth Williams I love to collect quotes, perhaps because many I find express things so much better than I can. My all-time favorite quote is about the importance of learning history: “Fools say
A Poem For Spring Reprised
Since it’s spring once again, I’m republishing my poem My Rite of Spring, from my book Some Poems About Life, available through this website and Amazon.com. My Rite of Spring I consider myself a peaceable soul.I value all manner of livable things.Insects and mice, spiders and voles.Just about anything Mom Nature brings. But I do have my standards.I
When Men Get All The Credit
“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” — Winston Churchill It’s important to remember that the accuracy of historical accounts always depends upon the historian. For example, have you ever heard of the Matilda Effect? It publicizes when men receive credit for women’s accomplishments. The term was introduced in 1993
Sleeping Through the Summer
Now that it’s spring, we can expect all those animals who slept through the winter start to emerge ready to face the world again. But do any animals actually sleep through the summer? Yes! If winter sleep is called hibernation, its flip side is estivation, defined by Merriam-Webster as “the state or condition of torpidity
A Chinese Father…
I first published this in December 2022 and thought it would be fun to revisit it. This story is attributed to appellate Judge David Bazelon. A Chinese father calls his children to a family meeting and tells them that somebody has pushed the family outhouse into the Yangtse River and asks somebody to confess; nobody
The History Behind O’Clock
A question to ponder after we’ve just finished adjusting our clocks to accommodate Daylight Savings Time: Have you wondered why we always say O’clock with the time? I found an interesting explanation in “Why Do We Use ‘O’Clock’ When Telling Time?” by Caroline Bologna on the Huffpost website. According to the article, “O’clock” is a
“A Great Empire Will Be Destroyed”
Having done many different things in a long life, my mind can make some unusual connections. For example, upon waking up this morning to the news of a major attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, my thoughts turned to a fabled story in ancient history. Croesus was the very wealthy and ambitious king of Lydia,
Are You Feeling Lucky? Three Friday the 13ths in 2026
Do you suffer from Triskaidekaphobia? If so, this is going to be a difficult year for you. Triskaidekaphobia is basically fear of the number 13, including fear of Friday the 13th. And this year’s calendar features three of these dates: February 13, March 13, and November 13 are all Fridays. What are the odds? This
Comparing Titans of the Economy
Today it’s Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg. But in an earlier time it was Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, JP Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie. I became interested in this “earlier time” when I assisted with a social-studies class in the high school that was exploring this era. So I decided to
Writing is Hard. Typos Prove It.
I admit it — I’m a lousy proofreader. This was especially embarrassing when I worked in the publishing business, editing a magazine on Disney collectibles. It seemed every issue had something misspelled or misquoted. But I’ve found some comfort in a recent article on the Dictionary;Scoop website. Entitled “The 10 Funniest Mistakes, Typos, And Misprints