When I'm not writing essays or songs, I'm writing tiny stories, usually fewer than 500 words. Click any of the titles below to read them. Dates that I wrote the story are included, when I remembered to write them down.
Sweet storiesThe Artist and the Cloud A tale about finding the means of creativity The Basset Hound and the Flying Squirrel (July, 2016) A dog learns to stretch her wings The Basset Hound and the Pig A chance encounter leads to a reevaluation of career choices The Boulders, the Geologist, and the Jewelry Designer A happy ending for a romance, millions of years in the making The Bull, The Squirrels, and the Crayons Every artist sees things differently, and just needs to find the right tools Care and Feeding On the necessity of keeping a muse well nourished The Chef and the Mold Anyone can cook...even a fungus The Children's Librarian and the Sacred Cat The rewards of a good deed, and the power of myth The Cicada Who Did Something With His Life About breaking with family tradition Composition (26 May 2016) Why an artist might want to consider thinking beyond the visual The Corgi and the Chicken For my wonderful cousin, Angela Price (check out her website here), a story of an unlikely artist finding inspiration from an unlikely source. The Cottonwood and the Artisan (2 February 2018) Friendship in the desert The Couple and the Guitar Strings (2 June 2016) On the necessity of couples discovering who they each are so that they can better discover each other, and make beautiful music together The Depression Limit (8 August 2013) A most unusual traffic stop The Elephant Without Any Tusks A celebration of great teaching The Flower and the Vine Storytelling, horticulture, and love Hermes 3000 On the ability of typewriters--and Morse Code--to bring people together How Are You Doing? (Written 22 July, 2016) The simple grace of simply caring about another person Matchbook (26 January 2018) The creation of an artifact The Mouse and the Apartment With the Music in its Walls Love lost, and happiness regained The Musk Ox and The Hardcore Drummer A new way of looking at slam dancing Pluto and the Interplanetary Mean Girls An astronomy lesson about why astronomers don't call Pluto a planet, and a celebration of artistic creativity...all in one tiny little story Rewards (Written 27 July, 2016) A laboratory mouse, with the unwitting help of a psychology student, finds his true calling The Rhythm Guitar Picks (12 January 2018) Plectrum romance Shopping Mall Madness (Written 30 July, 2016) A group of whip smart girls rewrite the rules of a sexist board game Sirius Astronomy and dogs, combined The Songbird and the Housefly The quest for perfect pitch Tag (29 December 2017) A quiet revolution in the world of fox hunting Waiting The answers will come The Wasp and the Summer Tanager An insect, with the help of her natural predator, finds her literary voice |
decidedly unusual storiesAll In One
A cautionary tale about a seemingly perfect product Author Visit A writer's presentation at an elementary school library doesn't go quite as planned Big Ideas (14 December 2017) Big ideas. Big heads. The Biochemist and the Mouse (1 June 2016) In which man and rodent contemplate the true meaning of success and failure Bowling Trophies About life--or, at least, reanimation--after death Character A writer finds his inspiration, with horrifying results Cold Storage A decidedly intriguing cost cutting measure for traveling musicians The Crossing Guard and the Electrons (23 May 2016) Traffic control at the atomic level Custody Divorce mediation among the entomologists. And by the way, the things they mention in the story--The Schmidt Sting Index and the South American Bullet Ant ritual--are true Driving Range A story involving golf, the Merchant Marines, and a decidedly unusual pastime. Eternal Links A meditation on the perfect golf course Flesh and Blood A tiny little horror story about Medusa Friction On the virtues of snail slime Good Hearty Italian Fare (3 June 2016) The virtues of good cooking, and dire consequences of fast food Heroic Illusions On the need for fewer alpha males Jabroni The epic conflict between gods, and professional wresting, all in one little story Last Day (written 8 December 2017) Old Age, Nostalgia, Love, Music, and Generation X The Memory Palace A celebration of mnemonics The Mind Sanitizer The danger of keeping things a bit too clean Nap Time A most unusual employee team building initiative Onward (Written 3 June, 2016) On the day of her retirement, a teacher makes her students, literally, soar The Purple Dot of Doom Parenting in the age of artificial intelligence and robotics Reality Life on the assembly line in the not too distant future Registrar It is unwise to two time a university administrator Respect for the Dead (Written 25 July, 2016) The need to honor the deceased changes a cemetery completely Roadies A tale of musical rebellion The Rock Star A change in career Shedding Skins (19 January 2018) One personal rhythmic evolution The Sugar King Beware of licorice flavored gummy bears Surplus Merchandise A novel use for leftover CDs Survivors Impending disaster makes two people realize they have quite a lot in common Sync On the quiet magic of windshield wipers cycling to the beat of a song Testing The future of standardized examinations That Song On knowing someone's future Theo and Me (Written July, 2016) Religion based on situation comedies The Virtual Contractor (25 May 2016) The future of Minecraft Virtual Virtual Virtual Reality (6 June 2016) Falling down the rabbit hole of imaginary worlds Yes Men (Written 15 July, 2016) The creation of celestial bodies, one sniveling sycophant at a time |