Cheryl lay in the dark of her room, in a heap of stuffed animals, thinking of her missing friend. The thought of him out there, alone, scared, maybe hunted, brought a mix of cold dread and hot tears back, and she fought them down again. She thought about the MISSING LOST CAT poster she had…
October Country . . . that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and mid-nights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away…
I once received a birthday card from a Neil, postmarked from England, and while I thought that was very kind I didn’t know any Neils, and certainly not any from England. Inside was a kind note and some drawings in pen, and then it dawned on me that I was holding a birthday card sent…
An old resume includes: Captain in the world’s 13th largest submarine fleet. Led “voyage of exploration through liquid space,†including a course beneath the polar icecap. Demonstrated conspicuous bravery and sound judgment in rescuing 32 civilians from surface storms, the Graveyard of Lost Ships, and attacks by giant squid. Spearheaded underwater archaeological expedition; located the…
I sat down years ago to make a list of Remarkable Things I Want to Do in My Life. #1 was “Tell Ray Bradbury how much I love Dandelion Wine.” Shortly after, I moved to San Diego, and read that Ray was going to teach a seminar for writers. Right down the hill from my…
A friend on Facebook: “You can learn everything you need to know about someone just watching them purchase fireworks.” One summer, my best friend and I were too poor to buy fireworks, but we loved window shopping at the firework stand. The dudebro attendants noticed us and offered us a deal: take stacks of their…
The day before Halloween some years ago, Ray Bradbury was appearing at a Los Angeles public library to drum up support for the institution–to remind people of the library, and its importance, and the books there for the asking. I found out about the event on short notice, and sped north from San Diego. First…