That Song Stuck in His Head

A bit of humor to get through the end of the week.    “I’ve got this song stuck in my head. I can’t get it out,” he said. “I know. I can hear you subvocalizing it. But it’s one you like, isn’t it?” She said. “Yes, but I don’t want to be replaying it while […]

Fencing the Sky

Back in 2013, James Galvin wrote a well-received western novel called Fencing the Sky. This post has only a slight connection to it–a writing prompt from a Zoom-hosted small group of local writers in southwestern New Mexico. This will likely be the extent of it, but who can say. Big Sky Country—where the well-off buy […]

The Gastroenterologist Transportation Commissioner

Another short piece from a writing group prompt–obviously the phrase that’s in the punchline. Use prompts; they work. 😀 No one could have imagined the result of appointing the well-regarded specialist Transportation Commissioner. He had much party support, having donated thousands of dollars to local, state and federal candidates. An astute observer, however, might have […]

Where Nightmares Come From

A break from Waiting for Westmoreland this week, for this tidbit from the writing group this week. It stemmed from the word “nightmare” in a “Nauseous Nocturne,” by Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson. I remarked on my first exposure to it that it reads like a combination of Edgar Allan Poe and Arlo Guthrie […]

Stardust–Joni Mitchell May Have Been Right

Nearly 50 years ago Joni Mitchell sang of the famous festival of Woodstock. She said in her counterculture song of the same name, “We are stardust.” Now there are scientists who say we may indeed be made of–or at least include in our DNA, not just an inheritance from Lucy millenia ago in Africa but […]

Living with a dog

Just a short something today–very short. Other things are demanding my time. Still, you may find this amusing if you, like my wife, thinks your dog licks too much. When she makes that observation to Max, he ignores her admonition and continues. I, on the other hand, may note this variation on an old expression: […]

The Thief With a Bellyache

The hungry thief made the most of the slim pickings he found in the remote cabin. He made a sandwich to go with stale bread and some dubious leftovers from the nearly empty refrigerator. He hadn’t targeted the dwelling in the woods, it came as a chance encounter while fleeing the police. His last heist […]

SPAM into SPAM

Think of the fortune that some techno nerd could make finding the secret technique of turning message spam into the real thing. Selected Pieces of Assorted Meat [one theory of the name’s origin]–SPAM. The US has its CAN-SPAM Act. The EU is even more stringent, with its double opt-in requirement for subscriptions. Few people like […]

Flotsam and Jetsam

I’m not sure from whence the information came–possibly one of those sites that publish stories on Martian babies born to celebrities. Unlikely that it came from Wikipedia. But I believe it anyway. Flotsam and Jetsam are twin brothers, most likely of Scandinavian descent. Some say they might have come from somewhere along the coast of […]

Shakespeare’s Sleep–Elusive for Some

He died at 52–probably a long life in the 16th century. Still, I must suppose that had Shakespeare lived another 15 years he might have worded these lines from Hamlet a little differently, To sleep, perchance to dream. Seriously, for most guys over 60 or certainly 65, it’s more like, To sleep, perchance to pee. More […]