If You Don’t Ask….

     Along about 1904, that is, just before the first Golden Age of postcards, an author published a novel featuring a heroine who was looking for a man.  The book gained some notoriety (and sales) because she was not looking for a good husband, a good provider, or a good father for her children.  TheContinue reading “If You Don’t Ask….”

LIKE A MIGHTY QUONKER, Chapter 26

     A gust of wind tried to blast a hole through the back of Matt’s coat as he pushed along, perusing animated displays in the store windows.  He was moving the wrong direction; the story of the windows progressed from north to south.  But he was nowhere near close enough to see the activity wellContinue reading “LIKE A MIGHTY QUONKER, Chapter 26”

Dark History, True Facts, and Mother Goose

     I am seeing an uptick in the number of articles the Interwebs has to offer on the True Story Behind various works of literature, and it is obviously time to take advantage of the trend.  I shall therefore indulge in a pastime which has obsessed people since the early nineteenth century, and enlighten youContinue reading “Dark History, True Facts, and Mother Goose”

Summers Behind Us

     Labor Day no longer means an end to the vacation season, of course.  Like wearing white or buying watermelon, vacations are available at any time of year.  In fact, we are moving right into the season when the snowbirds will start their annual migration away from snowy parts of the world to those withContinue reading “Summers Behind Us”

LIKE A MIGHTY QUONKER, Chapter 25

     He wanted to call a cab, but this was not allowed.  “We do have a car or two around the place,” Ada pointed out.  Within seconds of her summons, one of the numerous Silberwetter relatives/employees brought around a modest brown vehicle probably used only for driving past taxpayers.      Still in slippers and robe,Continue reading “LIKE A MIGHTY QUONKER, Chapter 25”

FICTION FRIDAY: Holiday Good

     “Ah, Heinrich!  I’m glad you’ve arrived.”      “It sounded urgent, Vincent.  You have located your creature?”      “The reports must be about him: eight feet tall, wearing a lab coat too small for him, and still dragging one of the electrodes that was attached when he broke out of my lab.”      “So weContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: Holiday Good”

LIKE A MIGHTY QUONKER, Chapter 24

     There were still things Matt wanted clarified: tombstones and skulls tumbled in his brain among automatic cameras and the deplorable results in candid photography as a hobby.  He picked up a picture he had examined three times by now: Ada, her blackmailer, and a small square wooden stool.       The front told him nothingContinue reading “LIKE A MIGHTY QUONKER, Chapter 24”

Dogs Resting

     One of the things which has aroused distaste among some observers and amused jealousy among others is the things dogs can get away with doing right out there in public.  Yes, other domesticated animals do the same things, but few people walk through the streets with their cows or ferrets or reindeer.      TheContinue reading “Dogs Resting”

Dogs and Their Pets

     As mentioned in our last thrilling episode, I have been checking through the new arrivals to the inventory, looking over the adventures of dogs.  Here it was that I discovered the existence of the Bystander Beast, animals whose conduct in a postcard is minor.  But there are plenty of postcards where the dog isContinue reading “Dogs and Their Pets”