On the Road with Gabe – Day Two — Reading time: 3 minutes It doesn’t take me long to forget that Gabe is on Day Two of driving. After less than a mile, I pull my phone out and start checking scores. I’m always curious to see if Albert Pujols is breaking out of his […]
Driving Lessons & Life Lessons — Reading time: 2 1/2 minutes – My son took the driver’s test (twice I learned later, overhearing his conversation with his aunt) and got his permit on Friday. If anyone within a five-mile radius reads this, you’ve been warned. The first thing to know is this: I’m his instructor. The […]
— Reading time: 7 minutes Longer than usual, but I wanted to give a thorough review in case you’re debating on attending one of these workshops. Last weekend, I boarded the train to attend the Writer’s Workshop of Chicago. Actually, I waited three hours and thirty minutes at the Amtrak station and then boarded the train. […]
English Assignment Did Hemingway start it? Who cares? It’s my favorite English assignment. Saves time. Easy grading. I pretend it’s legitimate. Begin with the lazy student, calls himself a philosopher. For sale. Baby mittens. Never worn. F for borderline plagiarism. See what the shy kid wants to say. Patty. Never fit. New choice. Patrick! Explains […]
— Reading time: 2 minutes I’ll be brief. But twice as long as that. I’ve been absent as I finished a massive edit to my work in progress. Now, I begin my search for a couple beta readers. Meantime, back to the present. I mentioned more than a few times that my theme for the A […]
Because everyone loves statistics (when someone else compiles them), we present the final tally to wrap up the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge on this blog: Most Viewed Letter Award: S for Shoplifter A record-setter for my blog (begun in February, so not much data yet), this post had 81 views the day it […]
ZOOKEEPER Natalie loved her job as much as she hated her boss, but Charles was 20 years from retirement, so she took matters into her own hands. When her experimental Platurtlepus used its tail to whack a groundhog into submission, Natalie knew she was on to something. A few early tests failed: Rhinoseal was just […]
YOGA INSTRUCTOR Detective Grossman gazed beyond Cheryl, focusing on something in the distance, maybe his retirement, and said “take me through the sequence one more time.” Cheryl nodded, knowing she’d skip the first part of the sequence when she found the text on her husband’s phone from his high school sweetheart. “Curt and I woke […]
Xylophonist Four cellos and two violas swayed in, and my anxiety soared knowing my moment was fast approaching. And her moments on Earth, this Madeleine, this French xylophonist, her remaining moments hung in the balance. Like Tchaikovsky before me, I would send the French to her deserved death, and the entirety of the percussion populace […]
Reader, you have an assignment following today’s piece. Stay tuned after reading. WRITER – Version 1 Ringmaster P.T. Ringling juggled bowling pins on his way toward the grandstand as the two-horned Unicorn loped off stage, the spotlight dimming with its exit. “Ladies and chain smokers,” P.T. barked over the catcalls, dodging an errant tomato from […]
JD Frain 