Bybee

Before the Internet, before the search engines, Tullius Menard was a person of substantial worth, for he’d memorized most all the facts. When he was young, Tullius decided to earn his way in life by knowing all the data — a considerable task indeed. So he wasted no time with reasoning or understanding or appreciating […]

     They held no power      They did not know how      Perhaps they’ll hold some now Born in the late 1930s and early ’40s, wedged in between the Greatest Generation and the baby boomers, they are few — and Ike Eisenhower lied to ’em. Ike went on TV in 1960 and […]

I write stories? Stuff? Sometimes kind folks read the stories and e-mail me. The e-mail is almost always of this nature: “I enjoyed your story. Interesting. Different. Made me laugh [or think, or smile] — but I’m not quite sure what it’s about. What does it mean?” My almost-always reply is: “Thank you. Glad you […]

Summer 1959. I’ll refine my first-baseman skills here at the semipro level, forget college, and go straight to the major leagues. The old, grizzled, arthritic pitcher throws some chin music. I jump cat-quick out of the way, trip, and fall on my back, arms and legs kickin’ like an upside-down dung beetle. The ball breaks […]

There’s a small celebrity associated with writing words that find public display; for instance, a few folks have asked me for writing advice. Of course, what they mean but are too kind to say is, “I have a wicker chair that can write better than you. I’m 50 times the writer you are, and I […]

Secrecy was the first order of the Brotherhood, so brothers Harold and Herbert called it Not The Brotherhood. Hob Fadwaddle, the only other “known” member, called it Not Only The Brotherhood. The organization’s purpose was just as secret — or perhaps just as confused. At one time it was vehemently anti-government/pro-conspiracy; now, after 9/11, it […]

Seven years ago. Cats are OK, as long as one doesn’t humanize them. I believe a cat would make a fine pet if it spent 10 minutes a day doing “frisky tricks,” then left immediately to work a double shift at Bob’s Package Liquor to earn enough to reimburse me for its room and board. […]

Their business was database development: Ulee Bob Waxon handled the people side, Yanks Avatar did all things technical. As Yanks measured it, he worked 80-hour weeks; Ulee did 10. Nonetheless, Yanks needed Ulee, for Yanks lived completely inside technology and struggled to communicate with other human beings. He did not understand the programming code for […]

It’s time to take the governor at his word and run state government as a business. As always, a nationwide search has been initiated to produce a blue-ribbon committee to establish the course of action. The governor’s last nationwide search, as you may recall, found an Elvis impersonator and Megan Harlow, ex-showgirl trophy wife of […]