Muse on Monday – January 5, 2026

We don’t usually think much about time unless it’s at a demarcation point, like the new year last week or a birthday or other milestone. Time just flows by in the background of our lives. However, there are times when significant things happen quickly and we are very aware of how fast (or slow) time…

Humanity’s Day Out

Humanity’s Day Out The humans were restless. Gryxad glanced at them on the holding bay monitor as the ship pulled up to the orbiting inspection booth. “Purpose of visit?” “Just vacation,” Gryxad said. “And letting the critters run around a bit.” “Critters?” “About 50 humans, a few canines and bovines.” “Length of stay?” Gryxad exchanged…

The Gift That Keeps on Aggravating

The Gift That Keeps on Aggravating I was so used to the fairy pigs that I forgot to tell my cousin visiting for Christmas. He woke up to his robe gone and two misshapen sacks by his bed. I rushed in at his cry of shock. “Wow, what beautiful shoes!” I exclaimed. “Listen,” I whispered,…

Muse on Monday – December 22, 2025

A lot of interesting stuff happens on the border between two things. That’s because there is inherent tension between the stuff on one side and the stuff on the other. Borders could either be in time or space. We are coming up on a border in time between 2025 and 2026, although this is arbitrary…

Just Trying to Help

Just Trying to Help I was sitting incognito on the beach when a cry went up from a woman holding a distraught baby. “Help, he’s lost his stuffie.” Nobody cared. I went over, keeping my sun hat low. “What happened?” “It’s his favorite toy, an alligator. He’ll be crushed.” Fine, I’d help. I took off…

Muse on Monday – December 15, 2025

Don’t you love Christmas? What, you don’t? A lot of us have a love-hate relationship with the holidays: love, because it is supposed to be a great time of celebration with family and friends; hate, because it is often filled with stress over expectations and sadness that things aren’t the way they should be. With…

Muse on Monday – December 8, 2025

For most of my life, I haven’t really known my neighbors. We might say hi in passing but nothing more. I do know the neighbors on both sides of us where we are currently and we get along well, so that’s a blessing. Bad neighbors, on the other hand, are a nightmare since there is…

The Restaurant on Top of the World

The Restaurant on Top of the World On aesthetic grounds, I was sad there was a restaurant on the summit of Mount Fuji. Spoiling nature and all that. Practically, I was overjoyed to sit down in the warmth after climbing seven hours. “How do you get the food up here?” I asked. “My daughter carries…

Muse on Monday – December 1, 2025

For this week’s story prompt, I have a dilemma situation where there isn’t necessarily a right answer. Story Prompt: December 1, 2025 You find a baby alone at a bus stop. There are a lot of factors that could change the situation. For example, what time of day/year is it? What is the weather? Who…

Muse on Monday – November 24, 2025

Sometimes I like to write a story that is all dialogue. It’s very in-the-moment, but obviously it can be challenging since there is no exposition or description to help explain things. And you can’t have more than two characters or you’ll lose track of who is speaking. Another interesting challenge is to write a story…