I was told over and over as a child—it was one of those things teachers felt we should know—that jack o’lanterns were originally made of turnips, not pumpkins. We all wanted to know whether they had birthday cake candles in those days, but that was all we ever got: in the olden days, peopleContinue reading “More Bygones”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Inkwells and Bathtubs
I was looking over a new postcard for my inventory and thought, “Wow! How much longer does THAT joke have to live?” I realized that even I understand some of these old postcard gags simply because I had read about the basic idea in books, or seen them in old movies. A joke dependsContinue reading “Inkwells and Bathtubs”
FICTION FRIDAY: A Teeny Tiny Sequel
Once upon a time, a teeny tiny woman lived in a teeny tiny house with a teeny tiny cat and her dainty darling daughter who had a dainty darling dog.. The four of them loved their teeny tiny house, which was a teeny tiny walk from a teeny tiny town One day, theContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: A Teeny Tiny Sequel”
Owed to a Skylark
I see by the number of views it received that my column about those who communicate on the Interwebs adding to world peace by just chilling a little and not feeling it is necessary to cry out in righteous indignation at every little thing was about as successful as a solicitation for funds toContinue reading “Owed to a Skylark”
Meeses
I do not have all that many postcards in my inventory which feature rats. This is not something I ever expected to have to apologize for, but in my most recent column, in which I told the thrilling tale of my courage in the face of a nonexistent rat, I used as illustration aContinue reading “Meeses”
Saving the Day
I have a question for you comic book experts out there. I did my time in the world of comics fandom, but that was back in the days when I could buy a boxful of new comics for about twenty bucks. No that was NOT in the days when they were a dime. I’mContinue reading “Saving the Day”
FICTION FRIDAY: Garden Gate
“Any you guys want to pray a bit, we got some time.” It was not a whisper, but the gruff voice was no louder than one. I looked around to see if one of the neighbors had a window open, and I was getting some Sunday afternoon movie. Kneeling in the garden, IContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: Garden Gate”
Boldly Going
In my boy days, we were always getting articles about how Jules Verne had predicted the future. This was a major theme in the world in those days: Jules Verne had predicted space travel, high-powered submarines, television, and who knows what all else. There was a reason that the government named its first nuclearContinue reading “Boldly Going”
FICTION FRIDAY: Before the Ink Was Dry
“That’s all you need, then?” The translator took its usual two-heartbeat delay in showing the reply. “Yes, Your Magnificence. With your digital signature, we can proceed immediately.” Yellowe nodded, and typed in a question he’d had answered before but wanted to read again. “And my people won’t know it’s happening?” AnotherContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: Before the Ink Was Dry”
Ooze Oo R Ooo?
If you hate baby talk, you have a lot of company. One of Irving Berlin’s lesser hit songs dealt with how it set his teeth on edge, and I have been running through the bookshelves in my brain to come up with authors who made the attempt successfully. I had no problem with aContinue reading “Ooze Oo R Ooo?”
Blogsy Babbles 