So… “Leaving on a jet plane,” as John Denver so beautifully sang, Cindy, Avra, and I were headed to the beach when a bizarre incident occurred. By the way—this is true—not fiction. Cindy loves to be swaddled, maybe because it gives her comfort, like always being in my rucksack…remembering the flooded Pyrenees tunnel in “Alternate … Read more
“What’s at stake?” is an often-asked question, but what does it really mean? In “Alternate State of Affairs” and its sequel, “Reach for the Stars,” saving humanity from a horrific weapon of mass destruction is the sole mission for Steven, Avra, and Cindy, the spiritual eyeless doll. Everything is at stake! Then, when all seems … Read more
1966. Woody Hayes was Coach at THE Ohio State University but all I could focus on was the gorgeous black-haired beauty sitting next to me in Spanish class. I was a 19-year-old frat boy with exploding hormones. Avra was 18 and…different. Instead of the standard mini-skirt and poor boy outfit with matching knee-high socks, this … Read more
“You grew up in Cleveland, went to Cleveland Heights High—an Indians fan—you told me so in the French Pyrenees on our last mission,” my Mossad agent girlfriend, Avra reminds me. “Are you kidding me? The Tribe to the death. They broke my heart so many times. It was my father’s dream that they’d win a … Read more
Sure, I once ran a 10.9 hundred-yard dash in 10th grade—pretty good for a white Jewish kid from Cleveland Heights High School. Another amazing phenomenon: my wife and I hiked from Taos to Santa Fe and to an elevation of 13,000 feet…above the clouds. Now, I love the confidence of a good old-fashioned railing…pretty smart … Read more
Cindy is an adorable baby doll that has been with my wife forever. Now, I’ve adopted her! Dressed in her original bathrobe and bunting, her age and being loved too hard have rendered her eyeless. Cindy has always been around… My wife would say, “Cindy is watching you…” Pretty spooky huh? Cindy found her way … Read more
Therapeutic catharsis opens my soul as I put pencil to paper. Confessing, purging, healing, and expanding my horizons—the mind-blowing benefits that I derive from writing. Besides helping me learn through investigation and research, it exercises my old brain cells that need constant maintenance. Like physical workouts that develop the osteo, cardio, and muscular components of … Read more
It’s all in the eye of the beholder. What is normal? What does upside down mean or its corollary—right side up? Left or right? In reference to what? … the observer or the creator? So, what’s the Metaverse? It’s that strange place that exists somewhere—but where? I’ll bet my 11-year-old granddaughter, Chloe, can tell you; … Read more
Well, it has been over twelve hours since the Buckeye’s sad loss—time to move on. After all, my sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Aliyah, is awestruck by the new prospects, the hope, and the opportunity, that 2023 offers. “It’s a fresh start,” she says, “with so many possibilities!” The wonderment of a child is so pure, and as … Read more
Man, those were good times—free as a bird. President of BAT, short for Beta Alpha Tau, that prodigious high school fraternity—been around for almost 100 years. Great traditions and kids who would become masters of the universe in their professions: college presidents, doctors, businessmen, lawyers, professors, and now me—Steven, the Army Ranger Delta Force wannabe. … Read more