Not-yet-published pieces, stories, essays, rants, and random strangenesses

May I just say, “OUCH!”

I received this lovely email this morning. This one distinguishes itself from all the other Nigerian scams is that (a) it never actually...

A substitute teacher in the town of Land-O-Lakes, Florida (just east of Tampa on the west coast, and one of the shooting locations for...

Margaret White, the psycho mother of Stephen King’s Carrie, immortalized in the film I should’ve killed myself when he put it in me....

A friend who shall remain nameless has been nagging me mercilessly about how I don’t blog anymore. Well, not mercilessly. And perhaps...

In years past, I’ve circulated among my email friends and acquaintances—or rather, re-circulated—one of my favorite holiday essays, David...

By now, you probably know that I have a thing for cows. I don’t know why I find them so endearing, or funny, or amazing, but I do. I love...

By Wickham Boyle | The Villager Urban Shaman is not an easy job title, or even a moniker that can be absorbed facilely at cocktail...

I had an acupuncture appointment yesterday. My head felt about two sizes too small, and whenever I bent over and the blood rushed to my...

From the recently published Reagan Diaries. The entry is dated May 17, 1986. A moment I’ve been dreading. George brought his...

Did I ever tell you that Dr. Seuss gave the commencement speech at my college graduation ceremony? It was the shortest speech in the...

Shouldn’t “onomotopeia” actually be an onomotopeia? And shouldn’t “palindrome” be a palindrome? I think it should be “palinilap” instead....

by Nick Squires in Sydney | Daily Telegraph [Just so they know: No apology will be either expected or desired for any Baptists consumed....

A friend writes: I’ve been telling people my Restless Leg Syndrome is canceled out by my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I want to twitch, I...

On August 31, 1995, six people drowned while trying to rescue a chicken that had fallen into a well in southern Egypt, according to...

I frequently had night terrors as a child, though apparently what I experienced was not what the psychologists call “night terror.” True...