A good king ruled a peaceful and prosperous nation. The king kept a bright fire burning in a tall watchtower, at a corner of his castle, as a sign to everyone that he was a great and powerful sovereign. Soldiers were charged with keeping the fire stoked, using, as fuel, timber from across the king’s domain. The radiance of the tower flame was so bright it could be seen for many miles in the day, and many more at night. The people regarded it as the Watchtower Star. Of all the treasures the king … [Read more...]
Gone Something Something Wind
I want to be a writer. I have so many ideas. The problem, in the midst of these days of the slathering on of multimedia content, covering all possible topics, and in every known genre, is culling out things I’ve seen or read, and keeping only my original thoughts. Here are some ideas I’m working on : A musical, a political western, about the struggles of transitioning from pioneer to settler to state citizen. The theme song is jingling in my head : O-K-L-A-H-O-M…, but that’s where I’m … [Read more...]
Mr. McKriffin’s Miracle
To begin with, here are the facts of the story : 1. It was 1961. I was seven years old. 2. Pollyanna, the Disney movie, had been released the year before. It was about a little girl who ended up in a wheelchair, and would never walk again, and this was sad. 3. I had a favorite aunt who was in a wheelchair, and would never walk again, and this too was sad. 4. Mr. McKriffin was in a wheelchair, and just like the others, this was sad. 5. I had never seen Mr. McKriffin, except in … [Read more...]
GIANT CHICKEN ELECTRICAL COMPANY
If there’s a job to do, but no one ever does it, will it ever get done? When no one checks for errors, and those errors escape into the wild, can they ever be corralled back again? For example: I draw house plans. I use a computer, now, but years ago, plans were drawn by hand with a pencil and paper. If a builder wanted to re-use a set of plans, and needed to flip or reverse those plans - maybe so the driveway would be on a particular side of the house - but the builder didn’t want to pay to … [Read more...]