Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Confronting Aging
I had signed up to substitute teach yesterday and today for an English/language arts teacher at the middle school. While I was working another job earlier in the week, he made it a point to come find me. In order to teach his eight-graders, I was going to have to prepare, so he gave me
Buying Nothing For Christmas
Are you worried about Christmas? Afraid that the supply bottlenecks will leave you bereft of gifts for everyone who expects them? Then perhaps you should try the Buy Nothing Project. Founded in 2013, the project’s purpose is to build community by connecting people through local giving, with a secondary purpose of helping the environment. In
Original Poem — Winter Perspective
Since it is now November, I thought it would be a good time 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
The Fires of Philadelphia
It’s remarkable how selective our memories can be when it comes to history. In school, I never learned about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre (https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/). Like most of the rest of the country, I heard about it only recently. So it stands to reason that I would never have been taught about the 1844 riots
Solving a Problem by Eating
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “When you have lemons, make lemonade.” We might also consider saying “If you have a problem, just eat it.” The problem in question is invasive species. From zebra mussels* to pythons in the Everglades**, some parts of the ecosystem are virtually under siege by plants and animals that aren’t
How Much Halloween Candy Can You Eat?
I hope everyone had a fun Halloween, and I’m sure many of you now have piles of candy as the remembrance. Not that I eat much candy myself, but when I saw the article “The Exact Amount Of Halloween Candy You Can Eat Before It’s Lethal” by Erica Sweeney (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-much-halloween-candy-lethal_l_6172241be4b010d9330ec746?), I couldn’t help but be
Add Another Talent For Dogs
We know that dogs have a refined sense of smell. They’ve been used to sniff out illegal drugs, contraband at border crossings, roadside bombs, and reportedly even cancer. Recently, I ran across another use for the canine nose. When families lose a loved one, the most recent trend is to have the remains cremated. Frequently
When Your Home is a Rattlesnake Rookery
Recently a California homeowner was surprised when reptile rescue pulled more than 90 rattlesnakes from the house’s foundation. The haul included 22 adults and 59 juveniles, plus eleven more on a second trip. The foundation apparently had become a rookery: a place where rattlesnakes gather to give birth. Rattlesnakes actually birth their young alive. Sometimes
A Vanishing Twin?
It’s estimated that 12% of human pregnancies begin as multiple pregnancies, but less than 2% end that way. What happens to the other embryo? Recall that identical twins occur when one egg splits into two and results in two embryos. But sometimes one of the embryos simply vanishes, leaving only one to develop to term.
How Radioactive Are We?
In 1984, radiation worker Stanley Watras set off an alarm that detected radiation exposure. A quick examination revealed Watras was not physically carrying any radiation source; the explanation was much more insidious: His body had absorbed large amounts of radon gas from his house’s basement. We tend to believe radiation is relatively rare and dangerous, but