Vince stood up on shaky legs and shook his head trying to clear it. Had he triggered another booby trap? It wouldn't surprise him. How long was he out? The powerful work lights were very dim and that meant that "Buddy's" battery was low so he switched them off and dug out his flashlight and peered into the stone box. The box was empty save for a few pieces of jewelry.Was this a joke? All that labor for an empty box? Vince...

It is the things that go wrong during a performance that usually make the best stories. These occurred the year I was doing Wait Until Dark. I, ouf course, was the villain tormenting the blind girl in her apartment. It was a thriller but also a very physical play as the actors found out. There is one scene where the heroine knocks me out and then drags me off stage and into her bedroom. She was almost back on stage and be...

I didn't always land a principal role, I've been in plays where I have had less than ten lines, and sometimes I didn't get a part at all. It doesn't matter, theater is theater. I've been a stage manager, assisted with props and worked the spotlight.After Dracula closed, I auditioned at another theater for their Winter show, it was a musical comedy set in a retirement home. Allan, the actor who played Renfield, showed up a...

Had it not been for the rope attached to the safety harness he wore Vince would have fallen about twelve feet, but the sensors detected a free fall and applied the brakes stopping him about one foot from the stone floor, but he still bumped his head and lacerated his forehead.  He discovered that he was bleeding and went for the small first aid kit he carried in his vest and managed the stop the flow of blood. Flashing th...

Vince stayed on the floor and watched as the large war Axe swung down. When it stopped moving, he stood up and managed to squeeze himself between it and the frame. His powerful flashlight illuminated the mechanism on the back of the old wooden door that activated the Axe, he marveled at its construction and design. Once inside the cell, he closed the door after tying a rope to the bars set in the wooden door.As the door c...

Vince left Florida on the first available flight for his home in Dallas, Texas. His first stop was his house to recover his pickup truck and then to the large storage facility where he stored all his equipment. He then began the arduous task of checking and packing it all for its overseas flight.Chief among these was a device of his own making that he had named "Buddy". It looked like moon rover but was much narrower, it...

It was a ten-hour flight from Paris to Naples, Florida and the residence of the only man to explore Castle deWinter and live to tell about it. Vince paid the extra expense to secure a seat in first class so he could grab some shut eye. He grabbed breakfast at the airport before renting a car and heading to his meeting.The house was easy to locate, and soon he pulled up to ornate gates that separated the driveway of this b...

Vince Carter was a world renown photographer and treasure hunter. He had shot and explored some of scariest places in the world and always discovered some hidden treasure trove. His books were always in demand and attendance at his lectures and book signings were always full housesThe items that he discovered always fetched the highest prices when they went to auction, so he was pretty well off financially. Today found hi...

Ah, the start of the holiday season. It brings with it the endless invitations to gatherings at the houses of friends and family.Now I was never a real big fan of these parties, and it's not for the lack of the Christmas spirit. It was great seeing and talking with relatives that I did not see on a regular basis. Then there was the sampling the excellent home made dishes and wine.Anyone that has ever been to an Italian/Si...

This memory concerns an attractive blond named Elaine. I never saw her in a dress or skirt that wasn't a mini and her feet were always clad in high heel boots and shoes. Her blouses all featured plunging necklines offering a view of her breasts and the tops of her sexy bras. Her figure was such that whatever she wore always looked custom made as they seemed to mold themselves to every luscious curve. Her voice was soft an...

It was less than a month later that the trial of Stiles was scheduled to commence. He had been allowed to telegraph Miles Kilgore to request his assistance in finding a lawyer. Mr. Kilgore used his considerable influence to postpone the trail until one could be located.He would also break his long-standing rule about public appearances and would be there to testifyThe appointed day finally arrived. The visiting circuit co...

The Sheriff and his two Deputies along with the man called Carpenter and a Franciscan Monk named Brother Sebastian trudged up the hill to the entrance to the old Delgatto mine. The full moon provided enough light to illuminate their path, not that Carpenter and the Monk needed it, but they slowed their pace and walked behind the lawmen to give the illusion that their vision was hampered by the darkness.When they reached t...

Styles rode at a breakneck speed toward the old Delgatto mine because he knew that a posse was forming and would soon give chase. The mine entrance was on top of a hill and there was only one road leading up to it. From this vantage point, he could see if anyone tried to approach.He remembered seeing it when he first visited Springwood. Due to its location and the fact that the entrance faced to the East he knew it would...

It was the twentieth anniversary of the First Frame, a bowling alley owned and operated by my dad's cousins.They were the first alley to have automatic pinsetters in the state and the first to expand and add more lanes and a pool room.They were the first bowling alley that offered top-of-the-line pinball and bowling machine games and a pro shop. I sort of grew up there as my dad worked on the machines as a part-time job....

The end of October was only a few days away and that meant so was the wedding of Carpenter and Holly. In Sinking Wells, the blacksmith known as Styles had just finished securing the packs on his mule."Kinda sorry to see ya go," the owner said."I have family matters that need my attention," Styles lied."If ya ever get the notion to return you will be welcome."Styles mounted his horse and the owner handed him the reins of t...