I first wrote this reminisce about one aspect of my military service in September 2021. I thought this would be a good time to republish it since we’re at war again. Listening to the media coverage of the Iraq withdrawal, one of the most heartbreaking stories was the interview with the widow of the last
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
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
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
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
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,
Have you every heard the saying “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door”? If not, good, because it isn’t true at all. Not only do you need a promising idea, but you need a way (preferably multiple ways) to tell the world about it. No one is going
Solstice Publishing has recently released Book 4 in the Secrets, Adventures, Fear, & Love series of short-story collections in both paperback and Kindle editions. I was fortunate enough to have my Christmas story, “Thanks, Santa,” included. “Thanks, Santa” was based on a true story as told to me by a friend who works seasonally as
Today I am reposting 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
Katie loves Christmas. Getting presents is nice, and playing in the snow with her friends is fun, but what she likes best are all the pretty decorations. When her family moves to Arizona, Katie can’t find any friends in her neighborhood, and her mom says it probably won’t snow, not even for Christmas. No snow?