Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
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 Titians 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
It’s a Football Thing Reprised
Since this is Super Bowl Week, I’m revisiting my thoughts on professional football. I have been a fan all my life; during my formative years, the Cleveland Browns were the only Ohio team and star running back Jim Brown was in his prime. That’s what got me hooked. Since then, as I’ve aged and entered
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