Way back when, a friend and I were sitting behind the wired backstop to the church camp’s dusty softball field, playing chess on a small travel board, while waiting for the game in progress to end. We had cleverly positioned ourselves so both of us could watch the softball game while playing the grand game of chess.  Then it happened.  Later investigations revealed a misplayed softball had found a hole in the backstop j...

The weak light from a leaden sky revealed a scattering of forlorn leaves clinging to the dark, wet limbs of trees bordering a deserted playground and half-empty parking lot. Cold, misty rain and swirling winds hastened the inevitable outcome of this doomed struggle.  A typical winter's day in New York, thought, Gwen Kaplan, as she took in the scene from inside her snug bedroom. To her, it seemed beautiful. The nasty weath...

  “...and in local sports, the Mets and Yankees both dropped road…” Debbie Morris automatically switched off the alarm radio she’d carefully set last night to turn on later than usual and glanced at her wristwatch.  Satisfied she was now, as planned,  exactly ten-minutes behind schedule,  she nodded and went back to re-checking her hair and make-up. As usual, she didn’t like what she saw in the small make-up mirror on her...