An idea from the If-I-Ruled-The-World Department — If you believe the news reports, a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent. Formerly a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Ukraine became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But President of Russia Vladimir Putin, in an apparent bid to put Humpty
When I was about ten years old, my grandfather showed me how to wiggle my ears. It took some time to figure out how to control that muscle (it actually goes from the eyebrows back), and they don’t wiggle very much, but they do move. This always seemed like a good life example — if
This Saturday, December 18, 2021, I will be appearing at Antiques Village, 651 Lyons Rd, Washington Township in Montgomery County, Ohio (Centerville) with all my books (https://www.antiquesvillage.net/). I plan to stay from the 10 am opening until at least 5 pm. This really is a fun place with some unique antiques, plus lots of second-hand
If you are looking for a Christmas book for a child, I would like to offer The Cactus Who Wanted to Be a Christmas Tree, available on this website (https://www.bobwelbaum-author.com/the-cactus-who-wanted-to-be-a-christmas-tree/) and Amazon.com in paperback and downloadable forms. Its Amazon rating is 4.4 out of 5 (https://www.amazon.com/Cactus-Who-Wanted-Christmas-Tree/dp/1938768507/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Bob+Welbaum&qid=1638648358&sr=8-1).
Awhile back, I had a great idea for a short story. I put my best work on paper, then sent it to the Bewildering Stories website. They rejected it. But after two rewrites, it was eventually accepted and published in Issue 864 (http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue864/help_friend1.html). The short story turned out so well, I just kept writing. Forty-two
Travel is good, although with the COVID virus rampant, travel is also a pain. That goes double for international travel. Having been on the road for the past two weeks for the first time in over two years, I got a firsthand look at what travel during a pandemic entails. I visited the United Kingdom,
Listening to the media coverage of the Iraq withdrawal, one of the most heartbreaking stories was the interview with the widow of the last servicemember killed. This had an special impact on me because twice in my military career, I had to tell families that they’d lost a loved one. When a death or injury
Although yesterday was the first day of school, I wasn’t quite ready for my summer to end. But when I saw a friend in community-based learning was going to be out today, it was “Uh-oh, I’d better take this.” Things are closer to what passes for normal this year. We’re back to seven periods a
It’s fun to play games, and much of that fun can come from winning. If it’s a simple game, like checkers, it’s easy to keep score. For every checker you capture, your opponent loses one. Simple! This straight-forward approach is called a zero-sum game: “an advantage that is won by one of two sides is
As the barricades came down and traffic was restored, Ken, Ellen and I said goodbye to the mile chief. We were off to the nine-mile mark, at the point where the course came back to follow the beach along Ocean Avenue. It was only about a mile and a half away. When we got there,