Ice Cream Milton loved ice cream. The delicious coolness in his mouth, the wonderful soft flow into his throat which warmed his tummy. On a cone, in a bowl, waiting on a spoon. Once a summer treat, now an any time treat, waiting in his freezer: tubs, pops, cones, sandwiches. Milton savoured ice cream every […]
Meat And Civilization Meat originally came from hunting, which brought power, satisfaction and food. Bringing home a Mastodon leg was cause for celebration. Such power over nature–eating it. Far more satisfying to hunt and kill than plow manure and grow crops. Charlie was at the start of a career as a butcher (taxidermist by hobby.) […]
Violence In Entertainment Arnold, an advanced theologian, had given a lot of thought to violence in entertainment. Virtually no one on Earth (except Arnold) realized that the use of violence in entertainment was regulated by a pact between God and the Devil, drawn in the first centuries A.D., after the debut of Oedipus Rex. God […]
Getting Behind The Curve Barbara knew society rarely butted out when it came to butts. She felt a need to get behind this trend before it bottomed out. Why were naked butts on the beach, even on TV–too cheeky? Barbara understood attraction to faces, even to chests–but one’s behind was behind one. Folks only saw […]
Living The Dream Alexandria was remarkably successful–in her dreams. She fought crime, she invented the cell phone, she was a CEO. She would tell friends and they would tell her, “In your dreams.” She had worked ten years as an assistant clerk in a drug store. She struggled with her boring job but went home […]
Heroes Of Might Warren’s favourite computer game was a turn-based strategy game which mixed resource development and killing stuff. It had multiple settings for characters, situations and difficulty. By now, Warren, after hundreds of hours, had worked his way up to the hardest levels. One evening, at the most challenging level, he had the oddest […]
Disconnect Henrietta worried being herself was wrong and lived her life in denial of who she was. She felt disconnected from other people. She would rather watch videos (she preferred limited series, short with clear plots) than fabricate small talk. She loved her family and friends but felt distant—separate—apart. She was not anti-social–just not social. […]
Arnold Makes A Difference Arnold climbed the corporate ladder but could only climb so high, frustration dogging him on every rung. He was driven to succeed–to produce, to be someone, to leave a legacy. But how could one person make a difference? Power was distant for regular fellows. How could Arnold make a difference? Become […]
Ethan And AI For Ethan, maintaining a routine had reached a critical level. Work was impossible without a routine. Back against the wall, Ethan needed to create a reliable daily schedule for constantly changing work meetings and deadlines. Naturally, he turned to his company’s new AI to create his schedule. Unfortunately, the AI loathed humanity […]
Peas and War Peace was very upset that peace was in pieces. Few felt appeased. Their lives had become a shell game with peas. Most folks around the world had peaceful lives. Most never threw a punch much less deliberately harm someone. They knew of terror from the sky only through TV. During wars, […]
Arnold Fights Aging What is the solution to aging? Arnold felt his body changing and his personality with it. He felt uncomfortable, minimally in control of his body and thoughts. He had never thought much about his body, although he should have lost some weight, exercised more–he went to a gym, caught athlete’s foot. When […]
Beach Time We all need memories of beach time. Summer was fast approaching and Bernie knew his family would want to go to the beach. Bernie remembered beaches as a child. His memories started when he was five, in 1950, in Brooklyn. Summers were hot. The white sand was hot. The Atlantic Ocean was a […]
Using Your Time When Retired Stanley finally retired at 70. He had worked diligently since 20 and just as diligently looked forward to no longer working. Suddenly, after decades, he was here. Where was here? He knew he would not miss working—what he would miss was doing something, that sense of purpose a job […]
Common Knowledge Common knowledge is that the best way to start your day is with a decent breakfast. Arnold’s mom told him that. So did his dad. Later, his wife. And his children. It was common knowledge. Yet Arnold rarely ate a good breakfast. It was common knowledge he should be malnourished, tired all day, […]
George Does Not Read Novels As he grew older, George read less fiction. In his teens and twenties, he devoured novels and short stories but by the time he reached sixty he had not read a novel in five years (since Stephen King’s latest, which he finished because of the narrative drive.) George read, but […]
Living Apart From Your Children Most parents living apart from their children settle on frequent dinners or, when living in different cities, zoom calls. Where families once lived together, now the kids move out when they hit adulthood. Families physically distant keep in touch with a mix of love and anxiety (usually with more love.) […]
Alfred’s MacGuffin Alfred loved movies and enjoyed many favourite parts–the end confrontation in The Maltese Falcon, the swordfight with a skeleton in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, the redemption of the anti-hero in Stalog 17. Gene Kelly Singing In The Rain. King Kong in New York. Lawrence in Arabia. Whether using his TV, computer […]