This is a story I wrote for my eight year old grandson, Simon. He asked me to write him a mystery. The setting is in the nineteenth century and I put in some school history of that period. Simon straightened from his slump and waved his hand frantically in the air, thinking, “I know, I know, call me!” Finally the teacher had asked a question that he thought he knew the answer to. “Alright, Simon, what's the answer?” “Thir...

The wide walkway that was a few steps above the lengthy beach was teeming with the sun loving crowd. The first days of warm weather after weeks of a wet, dreary Spring drew the multitudes. As Melanie navigated her way among the strollers she looked past the sandy beach. Very few had braved the still chilly waters of the lake but there were some taking advantage of the warm sand to get their first tan of the year. She appr...

They sat around the table pondering the the future. Marshal Hagen finished his food, quickly drained his glass and stood. “I'd like to say that this was great meeting you all, but under the circumstances I think I'll postpone that. I better get back to my partner.” Tom said, “Wait a bit, Art, if you're not in a rush. We have a prisoner out in one of the outbuildings but he hasn't been very talkative. If he sees a U.S. Mar...

The release of tension and fear was widespread through the colony and was shown in myriad ways. Although there were not many churches of organized religions in the colony the ones that were present were filled with people of all beliefs giving their thanks to their Creator. Many who claimed no religion at all yearned for a place to express their gratitude and to pray for their dead. At the other end of the spectrum were t...

Just after dawn the stranger trudged into Harper's Gully leading his horse. They stopped at the watering trough where the horse plunged his muzzle and the man filled his hat which he poured over his head. The water only removed some of the dust from him. He pumped a stream of water from the pump, captured a double handful and slowly swallowed it. He pulled the horse from the trough and continued along the street to the li...

The first meeting of the new government was held on a Friday evening. The first order of business was swearing in the new elected officers by the Marine's chaplain, the Reverend Stark. The first to take the oath of office was Eric Reid, the Territorial Governor. He was a mid fifties man, looking quite fit, with a broad smile and a full head of white hair. He had been Governor of one of the the ninety two States in PanAmer...

In the late morning Kari stood at the kitchen sink in her robe, a little bleary eyed after being up late explaining to the members of the colonists’ groups how and why Ida had accomplished so much as head of the transition to civil government. Most of them were very satisfied with the results, although a few groups were unhappy that their priorities had not been paramount. She looked up from rinsing her coffee cup and gla...

My first exposure to the wonders of television was shortly after the Second World War when a hardware store up the street put one in their front window. They turned it on when programming started which was, depending on the channel, sometime in the afternoon. They then left it on until the following morning when they shut it off to allow the vacuum tubes to cool. It was the first one in our small town and a great draw, es...

As he looked around all he could see, except for the long line in front of him, was a thick fog. It was certainly different from any other fog he'd seen. Instead of a damp, gray, chilly, fog, this one seemed to be warm and inviting, even cheerful with its rosy glow. Looking to his rear he saw more people joining the line in a continuous stream. Immediately behind him was a short, elderly man, dressed in nothing but what s...

The Council sat there for a few moments, stunned by Troyal's announcement that they may be at war. But then he continued, “I'm sorry if I have led you to a hasty conclusion that war is imminent, I don't think it is or even if it means war. Who knows how far this ship has traveled or how long ago it left its starting point. When I said soon I meant within some hundreds of years, not next week. Who knows how long it will ta...

Expansion of Mankind 3 When Sam and Kari returned to the planet Prime they reported to the Council that misunderstandings between the two cultures had been had been explained to the satisfaction of the Rovers, at least for now. There was still a disagreement on how to handle the problem of the rebels that were raising havoc among the colony, even going so far as burning farms and murder. The Rovers, after trying to cure t...

After a long, faster than light flight, the huge colonization spaceship had reached its destination. There the passengers found three planets in the liquid water zone of this faraway star. To their dismay they found that the planet they had hoped to colonize was already inhabited by an advanced race that didn't suffer interlopers. There was a second planet that would serve but it was a very malignant place with its flora...

“Hey, Sarge.” The man he was addressing was a large, almost hulking, individual that was field stripping a weapon casually but expertly. He looked to be in his mid twenties, give or take a few years. The scowl on his face didn't hide his almost pretty features, but were belied by his eyes when he looked up. They were the eyes of a pure predator. “Yea, whatta you want, Davies?” “Can I ask you a question?” “You just did. No...

A Fairy Tale Chapter 7 Why certainly, Colonel Beryl, what is your question.?” I just wondered if you knew why Sir Art never answers my questions?” He didn't get an answer to that either because the King said, “That reminds me, I almost forgot to ask you where you found those spells at the last minute, Steve. If you had them why didn't you tell me sooner?” “I didn't know that they were spells, Sire. That professor that Tom...

“Hey, turn that overhead light back on, can't you see I'm trying to read here? “Oh, don't be a silly goose, there's a table lamp right next to you there that should give you plenty of light, John.” “Yea, maybe if I was a coal miner it would, but I'm trying to read the paper.” “But with that overhead light on it washes out the television screen, it looks so much better in the dark.” “I've told you before, it doesn't wash o...