From the “I Wish I’d Written That Department,” here is a poem for the times. Solitudeby Ella Wheeler Wilcox Laugh, and the world laughs with you;Weep, and you weep alone.For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,But has trouble enough of its own.Sing, and the hills will answer;Sigh, it is lost on the air.The
Words can come from anywhere. They especially originate from contact with other cultures and in times of stress, like wars. I experienced this firsthand during the Vietnam era, when I was stationed in Thailand and heard how many Thai words my fellow airmen were using in their everyday conversation. Since I haven’t heard any of
Since there has been so much focus on polling during this year’s election cycle, I thought it appropriate to commemorate the birthday of George Gallup, born November 18, 1901 in Jefferson, Iowa. Gallup was a pioneer of survey sampling methods and founded the Gallup public-opinion poll. This is from The Writer’s Almanac of November 18, 2020
If you have a child between four and fourteen that wonders what it’s like to be grown up, one solution is to take them to a KidZania theme park. Unlike your typical ride-oriented park, KidZania parks provide the opportunity for children to play adult roles in their own scaled-down city. The parks are completely enclosed
Have you ever watched a large flock of birds or a school of fish? Notice how they all tend to synchronize their movements? It can be mesmerizing to see how a large group of animals moves together. Scientists have a name for it — Swarm intelligence. Isn’t it unfortunate that we can’t do the same
There has been so much written about this year’s election. All indications are it really is a pivotal event in this country’s future. How pivotal? I don’t believe any president should be judged until twenty years have passed, but where we go from here will be fascinating to watch. Since we have been putting together
My favorite law is the Law of Unintended Consequences. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, as today, private companies were doing a brisk business delivering packages. The Post Office’s answer to this competition was Parcel Post, shipping packages through the mail, which began on January 1, 1913. It was a major innovation. Now almost
Since it is now November, I’m reposting my winter poem. It’s included in my poetry book Some Poems About Life, available on this website and Amazon.com. If nothing else, it will be a diversion from the election news. Perspective The son stood in the doorway,Behold a beautiful sight!As far as he could see,nothing but fluffy
Assuming everyone has survived Halloween, here’s a question — when we get scared, what impact does that have on our bodies? The surprising answer is, depending on the type of person you are, the effects can be more good than bad. Being in or even viewing a scary situation does cause physiological changes, like an
This is as close as I can come to a good Halloween story. 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=bob+welbaum&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss). By the
