Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Announcing “With a Little Help From My Friend”
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
Some Thoughts on International Travel
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,
The Latest Weapon Against COVID — Community Refrigerators
Of all the COVID adaptations, one of the more imaginative is the community refrigerator. The idea is quite simple — put a fridge on a street corner, stock it with surplus food, and let people help themselves under the motto “take what you need, leave what you can.” Since the start of the pandemic, these
An Untold 9/11 Story: The Boatlift
Catching up on my reading, I ran across an amazing story from the 9/11 tragedy. When the Twin Towers fell, people began running for their lives. Since this was the tip of lower Manhattan, people on the south side were quickly trapped at the waterfront. Their salvation came from the flotilla of more than 150
Book Review: “The Ride of a Lifetime”
Robert Iger is executive chairman, chairman of the board, and former CEO (2005–2020) of The Walt Disney Company. He has also served as president of ABC Television (1994–1995) and as president/COO of Capital Cities/ABC (1995) until it was acquired by Disney (1996). Iger was then named president/COO of Disney in 2000 and succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005. During his 15 years as CEO, Iger
A Virgin Birth…in Another Species
The Cala Gonone Aquarium in Sardinia, Italy is reporting a female smoothhound shark has given birth despite having been in a tank with only another female for the past decade. As reported by Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/baby-shark-born-all-female-tank-could-scientific-first-1622272), this may be a scientific first for this species. Not that this phenomenon is completely unknown. It even has a
Casualty Notification From The Inside
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
Could You Live To Be 150?
What is the upper limit of human lifespan? At one time, reaching the age of 100 was considered to be a remarkable achievement. Yet by 2050, the United Nations estimates there could be as many as 3.7 million centenarians in the world, a major increase from just under 600,000 today. (I hope I’m included; I would be
More Evidence of Political Polarization
Do you need more evidence of how polarized the country is? I have just read that political works currently hold the top spots on the New York Times best-seller list of hardcover nonfiction books. At the very top is American Marxism by the Fox News host Mark Levin. According to the description on Amazon.com, “In American
Back to School in 2021
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