The women’s marathon had been new territory. We all had been tentative and unsure. But the men’s marathon would be different. Everyone knew exactly what to expect. Also, we would be wide awake. The plan was about the same, only we allowed an extra hour for traffic. We shouldn’t have worried; we arrived at the
Almost immediately, a truck appeared to begin collecting barricades. Traffic was flowing freely again within five minutes. Workmen appeared to reset gates and take down decorations. They would be needed again next Sunday for the Men’s Marathon. The marshals gathered for a round of self-congratulations and to wait for transportation back to the RAND Corporation.
I didn’t sleep well last night. Maybe it was because I was getting up at 4 am, or because I was in a strange bed (I was at my friend Ken’s house to save travel time), or because I was going to help with the first women’s marathon in Olympic history. We were up and
When we reconvened one of the topics was — security. There were no, repeat no, anticipated security problems. None. The possibility was very remote. However, even though there will be security people, and one of the three radio nets will be reserved for security, they wanted race marshals who will be alert, intelligent, and capable
The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) was nothing if not prompt. The meeting began precisely at 7:00 with a slap of a palm to the podium. The first of six speakers welcomed us. I quickly lost track of who was what. It takes a big bureaucracy to put on an Olympics. First, we were
The start of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo has reminded me of my own Olympic moment. In 1984, I was living in Anaheim, CA when the Summer Olympics came to Los Angeles. This was not only a chance to see some of the world’s greatest athletes, it also provided a way to give back to
So what did you think of Richard Branson’s foray into space? To recap, on Sunday, July 11, 2021, Sir Richard Branson, pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, and employees Beth Moses, Colin Bennett, and Sirisha Bandla boarded SpaceShipTwo, a winged plane with a single rocket motor that Branson’s company Virgin Galactic has been developing for the past twenty
How strange am I? Now you can see for yourself. I’ve written 19 short stories over the past several years, eight of which have been published on the Bewildering Stories website (http://bewilderingstories.com/). To keep busy during the quarantine, I put them all together into a book that’s now available on Amazon.com. The book comes in two flavors —
Today is another Presidential inauguration. These are always nostalgic for me because, as I posted four years ago, they remind me of the time I was in an inaugural parade. It was in January 1969, and at another turbulent time for our nation, although for an entirely different reason. Richard Nixon was the President-elect taking
Based on a true event, this story is included in my book Stories Short and Strange, available at Amazon.com in paperback (https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Short-Strange-Bob-Welbaum/dp/B0874PCH2G/ref=sr_1_1?) and Kindle download (https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Short-Strange-Bob-Welbaum-ebook/dp/B0876GGCMG/ref=sr_1_6?), and on this website. When an object disappears from a toddler, what’s the most logical explanation? The Earring — An Original Story An earring was missing. The young mother