Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Kentucky Derby — Who Was Isaac Burns Murphy?
I’m not really a fan of horse racing and I’ve never been to the Kentucky Derby. Perhaps I should someday, since my mother was from Kentucky (she always told me Kentucky was the state of fast horses and beautiful women. Or was that the other way around?) It might be because my grandfather got me
Happy May Day!
Yesterday you probably saw working-class people parading at various locations around the world for May Day, the first of May. In my lifetime, May Day has always belonged to the labor movement. But that’s only been true since the 19th Century. According to the EarthSky website, May Day is actually an astronomical holiday. I’m sure
The Biggest Wastes of Time, Especially When You’re Old
I’m at the point in my life when I know my time is running out. The “Wish I would’ves” and “What ifs” have been piling up. So an article entitled “The Biggest Wastes Of Time We Regret When We Get Older” by Kristin Wong quickly caught my eye. Speaking from long experience, I think Kristin
On Raising Successful Kids
This is a headline that’s difficult to ignore — “Want to raise successful kids? Harvard, MIT study says doing one thing at age 4 could make them happier and wealthier in life.” If you are a parent, you’ve probably read all types of articles about how best to raise your children. But this one is
The Latest in Designer Food
I was catching up on newspaper reading recently when a headline caught my eye — Behold the ‘Impossible Whopper’. It seems the fast-food chain Burger King has a beefless sandwich. Although limited in availability now, the goal is to offer it in all outlets if well received (https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/04/16/burger-king-adopts-fake-meat.aspx). This headline especially jumped out at me
Something For a Manic Monday
The start of another busy week, so I thought it would be appropriate to share some humor a friend sent me. Have a good week! How Children Perceive Their Grandparents. 1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she’d done many times before. After she
Read the News Like a Scientist
I’m both a news junkie and am active on social media. That’s a volatile mix in these political times. So when I saw an article on Ideas.TED.com about a better way to read the news, I was hooked. The better way is actually quite simple — read as if you were a scientist. How? Here
How to Think Like a Billionaire
I just found an article I had to read — “6 things successful people like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos do on weekends to make their Mondays more productive” by Benjamin Spall (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/29/what-successful-people-like-bill-gates-and-jeff-bezos-do-on-weekends.html?). I’m sure we’d all like to be as successful as Bill Gates. So what is the secret? I’ll list them for you,
The Secret to Aging Gracefully? Get a Pet
New data from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging contains some information you’ve probably suspected — pets help you stay in good health as you age. This survey collected data from about 2,000 U.S. adults from ages 50 to 80. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they owned at least one pet, with dogs
What Is The Appendix Good For?
All of my life, I have been taught that the appendix in our digestive system served no function. Perhaps it was useful a long time ago if our ancestors ate grass? But lately, like the last few thousand years, it’s been the poster organ for something that could do us more harm than good. But