No matter where you live or what your life is like, there is always beauty that pops up. Admittedly, if you live in a Swiss mountain valley, there might be more than if you live in a sewer, but there is nowhere without any beautify if you have the eyes to see it. This is…
The B.U.G. (Big Unfriendly Giant)
The B.U.G. (Big Unfriendly Giant) Bus ticket to Mount Crius Park: $15.60 Snacks for six-hour hike where I found the BUG: $6.35. Search and rescue efforts after he took me to his cave: $38,500. Collect call to my parents at rest stop after escaping: $2.36. Cost of his following me home: Rest stop shelter:…
Savanna Classroom
Savanna Classroom It was hot and the class was restless. It consisted of 8 young red-billed oxpeckers perched along the neck of Giraffe 216 and a yellow-billed oxpecker lower down on the flanks who was a recent transfer student. The teacher was droning on about air currents and thermals. “What’s your next class?” Mbaya whispered…
Muse on Monday – August 29, 2022
Would you want to know everything? It would simplify some things and massively complicate other things. And you’d always know how a book ended before you read it, so that would be annoying. Much of the conflict in stories is based on a lack of key knowledge: for instance, romantic comedies often hinge on a…
To Serve Man (and Woman)
To Serve Man (and Woman) The book was called To Serve Man. It was a cookbook. We told our Yrganian hosts that humans was preferable, but even aliens like obscure cultural references. The Yrganians were hospitable, but since most of their food would kill us instantly, they meticulously compiled a list of non-lethal foods and…
Muse on Monday – August 22, 2022
I don’t know about you, but this past week was a long week for me. I work in a university, and we have hundreds of new students arriving and getting ready to start classes. It’s hard to find time to eat sometimes, let alone write stories. Sometimes when you are busy and tired it is…
Shell Game
Shell Game The stall was just a door-on-sawhorses table spread with a selection of fantastical shells you could never find in a marine biology textbook. Most ships avoided the rift that had recently opened offshore, but this girl and her brother were clearly more enterprising. “How much?” I pointed at a coconut-sized blood-red shell. “10?”…
What is the Meaning of Life? Food? Yes!
What’s the Meaning of Life? Food? Yes! All my life goes around food. I bake to entertain. In 2020, when quarantine started, I was bored. We all sat at home for about a month without going outside except going to our garden. At that moment I started trying activities: started sewing and finished by bringing…
Finding Koimee
Finding Koimee I was just getting off my knees after looking under another garbage-strewn bench, when the flashlight beam fell on me. “Can I help you, sir.” It wasn’t a question. “Um, hi, sorry,” I said, shielding my eyes. “Just looking for Koimee.” “Is that your dog?” “No, he’s a frog.” “A frog.” I sighed….
Muse on Monday – August 15, 2022
Stories are everywhere. Not just ideas for stories but actual stories: if you see a wrecked car on the side of the road, that contains a whole host of stories, including the final one that led to it being wrecked. A painting holds the story of its creation as well as the ideas that the…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 