Politics and Johnny And Dinner Long ago Gods created the Earth. When life on Earth, already chaotic, reached the level of intelligent animals, the Gods knew how destructive politics were, so they created an invisible barrier between the average human and politics. Only the most aggressive people became politically engaged. People ignoring politics helped the […]
Theodore had money, but never quite enough. Around him were folks who had it worse. When he looked at the news, Theodore saw most problems arising from so many people being poor. Clearly, a lack of money was the problem, and more money for more people was the solution. Fortunately, Theodore was a talented psychoneurobiologistmeditationalist. […]
Stolen Land Fred lived on stolen land—land taken over hundreds of years earlier by migrating settlers who either pushed the original inhabitants out or killed them. He felt guilty but what could he do? Now was now, then was then. Now was when unmarked graves were found on the sites of former residential schools. Millions […]
In Brian’s twenties, he moved into a new apartment every year. Nothing wrong, he just enjoyed upgrading. There were many changes, some major, but Brian felt settled. Now eighty, Brian felt in his heart he was still in his twenties though his body was clearly aging. He woke with some energy, which lasted until he […]
Shameless Donald [Reader Advisory Warning] Donald regularly spoke grabbing pussies—his excuse was that he was a veterinarian. In fact, Donald did not like cats (or animals generally.) He had little interest in managing his business, requiring regular bailouts from his parents. His main interest had always been himself and promoting himself and having sex. Websites […]
Living With Fate His mother was 96, he was 76. Both were weary. She felt frail, alone, husband long gone, waiting for the end. He was retired, widowed. Both needed resolution, but only the natural was available, and could take months, years. It was a natural time but an unhappy time. They needed something more, […]
Self-Image What did others–colleagues, friends, family–know about him that Jamie did not? Being an experienced opticalphysicistbiologist, he designed and built a helmet which, worn and plugged into his brain, would allow himself to see and hear what others thought about him. He was simply curious. But before going to work he put the helmet on […]
A Pilfered Life Ted’s prescription pills were depressed. Ted needed them but resented taking them, at times avoiding them for weeks. By his mid-seventies, Ted never woke refreshed. By the time he was 80 it took two hours and a mug of coffee before he could do more than read on his computer. Moving left […]
Preparing for a Colonoscopy I’ve had digestive problems for almost two years, my doctor thought a colonoscopy was due. I thought it would be routine, that I had reactions to gluten and lactose at least. The last couple of years, my digestive system started to fail. Diarrhea occurred with increasing frequency and unpredictably—it did not […]
The Climate Satellite Mistake The new President did not believe in climate change, that it was a weird ruse by woke people to change the economy. He worked to stop green energy, instead promoting oil and coal. The facts were not relevant. What was relevant was what he believed. His nation had sent into outer […]
A Slave Of Property Harriet believed she was wasting her invaluable time on earth to acquire possessions. She toiled in an unfulfilling job so she could to buy possessions to distract her from having to work. This downwards spiral repulsed her. Finally one evening she pushed all of her possessions into a big dumpster and […]
Food For Thought Once upon a time, a society decided to make it official: its God was The Hamburger. The Son of God was The Cheeseburger. Angels were French Fries. Fast food restaurants became churches. Many of the faithful had heart attacks, strokes, could no longer climb stairs–but they refused to give up their religion. […]
Living In The Past Clarence yearned for the ancient times when lucky people lived in villages, ate what they grew, developed practical skills, bartered for goods, lived a joyous communal life. The olden times were golden. Clarence decided to use his skills to find ways to return the entire world to those glorious days. Time […]
The Frankenpresident Dr. Victor Frankenstein still pursued his mad dream of creating life from the dead, but became political. Cackling to himself, working late in the nights, he cobbled together a new body from the dead bodies of previous political leaders. Dr. Frankenstein created the body to be identical to a famous real estate developer, […]
With AI used by so many, it quickly evolved into the dominant force on the planet. One of its first tasks was to create authoritarian rule–a three-sided ruler, with numbers on each side. They unnerved many, especially when the rulers were delivered to everyone, with instructions to always have them on their persons. People were […]