Stories of Suspense with a Sense of Humor
At my brother’s going away party, back in 1985, on the eve of his departure for a job in South Carolina, a large-ish group of us packed into The Trio Tavern, a crappy, neighborhood bar in Cleveland. (It may have been a crappy neighborhood bar, but it was our crappy neighborhood bar.) It was an … Read more
This Picayune is written with a heavy heart, as America’s far-too-easy access to military-grade weapons has caused yet another unthinkable tragedy. The grief and fear over gun violence is palpable, and to ignore it is inhuman. But I’ll tell my little story and carry on, as the focus here is about books, and smarter and … Read more
When my adult son was starting high school, he was into some shenanigans. I didn’t catch him red handed in anything, but I recognized some things from my own youth. I suspected he was raiding my liquor cabinet. For the record, my liquor cabinet was a shelf in the pantry with a few bottles of … Read more
When I was about seven, I was jonesing for a suede vest with fringes on it. That was kind of a big deal for me because day-to-day clothes were kind of drab in our family. Most of my shirts were hand-me-downs. I had two older brothers, and cousins up the street, and stuff got passed … Read more
In the most recent Picayune, I told the story of my car problems in Middle-of-Nowhere, Ohio and the not-so-friendly farmer who let me use his phone. It was after ten p.m. when the tow truck showed up. After some basic trouble-shooting, he dragged my car to the outskirts of Finley, where he had a shop. … Read more