Stories of Suspense with a Sense of Humor
Way back in eighth grade, I was on a travel hockey team and we had a game in Hamilton, Ontario against another bantam team, which was about a four-hour drive from Cleveland. The plan was to drive east, stop in Shaker Heights to pick up two kids who would be guest-playing on our team, and … Read more
On my seventh birthday, right after second grade, I asked for a guitar as my gift. My mom took me to the music store at the end of our street and let me pick it out. She also signed me up for lessons. It was great. I didn’t do anything with it that first week … Read more
I’ve been at this writing business quite a while, stretching back to typewriters, carbon copies, and self-addressed stamped envelopes for the return of manuscripts. I subscribed to about a dozen literary journals, and spent every evening reading, or writing, or both. I’d send my stories out with a kiss and a wish that maybe, just … Read more
I became obsessed with magic tricks when I was ten years old. This was back in 1974 and the only magicians I’d seen at that point were cartoon versions in Bugs Bunny or Popeye cartoons, and their ilk. It’s not like my parents took us to vaudeville shows for entertainment. We had a TV, and … Read more
This week, my mother would have turned 95. She’s been gone a while, but I think of her often, and how she schemed and fought for what she believed was right. She didn’t win all of her battles—it’s tough when the deck is stacked against you—but she won some key ones, like getting a dog … Read more