Writings
Eddie +
Written: Summer, 2024
"Eddie +" ("Eddie Plus"), like most sci-fi stories, is a cautionary fable. in this case about the dangers of time travel. Our hero, Dr. Edward Pushkin, takes a ride into the past and uncovers a disturbing family secret. The plot challenged me to come up with multiple timelines that could have intersected realistically. Fortunately, I've done the math, so you can relax and be fairly certain that the numbers are right and the action isn't far-fetched. But if you decide to check the chronology, file down your scratching fingernail or you'll wear out your forehead. I can't take credit for the idea - the Greeks and a comic book beat me to it - but I had a lot of fun putting my slant on it. even when I was counting years to make sure the story makes sense.
Mushroom Soup
Written: Summer, 2024
A few years ago, I had an experience in my favorite deli that prodded me to write this short slice of life story. Though "creative license" permits and often justifies what regular folk recognize as a pack of lies, most of what I relate here is based on what truly did happen and does not rely on my imagination for a boost. That the rest of the tale is a pack of lies does not alter the fact that simple incidents are often the most revealing.
Donny in Oddz
Written: Summer, 2024
A political satire, "Donny in Oddz" was inspired by journalists Il'f and Petrov's "How They Wrote Robinson Crusoe" (1933). Anyone reading it is left to wonder how these critics of Soviet bureaucracy managed to escape being banished to the gulags of Uncle Joe Stalin. Anyone reading my adaptation will be left to wonder how I will escape being sent to Guantanamo if a certain party comes back into power.
Uncle Leroy Takes the Cure
Written: Summer, 2024
My first play is a musical farce with over 20 tunes written in the Mad Magazine tradition: borrowing melodies from great standards and altering the lyrics. The idea came to me a few years ago when I saw a video of Ted Cruz cooking bacon "Texas-style." He wrapped raw bacon strips around the barrel of an AR and set loose two or three hundred rounds. A few moments later, the bacon was sizzling in a cloud of sublimated fat. He unwrapped it from the muzzle, took a bite and pronounced it delicious. I guess he also prefers gun oil dressing in his salad over olive. See what happens to our favorite uncle - the one who comes to Thanksgiving dinner and can't stop spouting his political beliefs to unwilling listeners - when he follows the same recipe with his AR.
Opening Day At Dear Old Trumpkin U.
Written: Fall, 2024
A little education never hurt nobody.
How His Very Own Wig Flipped Donny
Written: Winter, 2024-2025
Ah! The nightmarish dreams of a Big MacDoberdoodle fiend! This fantasy, inspired by Nikolai Gogol’s “The Nose,” should remind us to be mindful of what we eat before going to bed.
A Puppy and Her Old Man
Written: 2023
When my beloved Setter Missy passed, I vowed never to adopt another pup. I was getting on in years, not that I couldn’t do all the things I’d always happily done with my dogs. But my age was holding me back. What would happen in say 15 years when it’s time for both of us to check out? How would I bear the loss? Or she- were I to go first? I made a strong case for staying dog-free, lived without one for years… and then this happened.
One More for the Cause
Written: 2023-2025
It has taken almost three years to finish this ambitious piece, the most taxing I’ve ever written. I must have revised it a dozen times trying to get it right, finally settling on this version that I’ll probably edit as well. Most of the events I describe, especially the ones that are least believable, really did happen and all the characters are based on people I knew, most of whom have passed. The boy Alex is still among us, an old man now. This is an account of the people and experiences, some wonderful, some not so nice, that influenced the development of his character as he matured into adulthood. I wish him well- and regret that he didn’t have a better writer to tell his story.
