Normally, when our only client has questions he comes to our home. It was not normal this time around. He wanted information on a wild and brand new product of breathing Oxygen. He gave the details while I jotted down the information and possibilities. He sniffed out the product, the people selling it, and wanted […]
To Ponder
Letter: Paranoia And A Panegyric
A parable regarding what, better yet who, we value, as in priceless. For over 30 years he had coveted one of the most priceless pennies in the world, and he eventually spent millions to purchase it. As he accepted the penny, the crowd applauded; the TV cameras rolled; questions were asked. What will you do […]
Letter: Where and When?
This morning I typed in my search box of articles I had written “perfect storm” thinking I would find something else. But this was the picture that appeared. Two years ago, this coming April 3, Bill’s Boathouse, our place of business, burned to the ground. Our family wrote: ‘We are absolutely heartbroken. We had grand […]
Typhoon by Joseph Conrad (short story review)
Submitted by Aaron Arkin. A longtime fan of the writer Joseph Conrad, I recently read his short story, “Typhoon”. Introducing its main character, a person who had risen to the position of ship’s captain, my initial impression saw him as a particular type, someone essentially of mediocre caliber, a “by-the-book” guy who never made waves, […]
Let’s Talk! – Walk the Red Carpet
Red carpets are always related to a special event. After the 19th century’s Industrial Revolution, red carpets were apparently associated with power and wealth. Train companies started using them for their clients to board trains. Hotels spread them at their entrances. One of my first children’s books was by German author James Krüss; it told […]
Across the Fence: Hosenrolle
How often have we laughed about the situations created on stage or in films when a woman is cross-dressing as a male and gets mistaken for one or makes the oddest mistakes BECAUSE she is a woman? Think, for example, of Shakespeare’s comedy “As You Like It” in which Lady Rosalind dresses as a man […]
In the Book Nook with … Janet McGiffin
Author Janet McGiffin lives in Tacoma, WA, just down the hill from her son and daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, after living some time in Lakewood, WA, Greece, and New York City. She used to work for the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Health Department, was a press officer for the Washington State Senate in Olympia, and worked in […]
Letter: Damaged In Shipping
“A holy lesson in some cardboard.” That was the assessment of Erin Mullins who is not only kin but a kindred spirit. The box labeled “fragile,” the one bearing precious gifts, the one that arrived on her porch just before Christmas was damaged. There was a hole where there shouldn’t have been one. It didn’t […]
Letter: Marriage Made In Heaven
“Heads I win, tails you lose.” Those are the rules of a game I sometimes play with groups of youth. Hand after hand will go up to win the quarter (nickel, dime, penny, whatever I have in my pocket). Nobody ever wins, only me. Some never get it. Some somewhat-grownups still don’t. On August 15, […]