There’s a story about Abraham Lincoln growing up dirt poor–wanting to study but not having enough money to buy candles which would allow him to read after the sun went down. Gas lamps were also out of the budget and Mr. Edison’s electric lights were a generation away. So instead
Do any of the following monologues sound even remotely plausible? Is there a syllable of truth in any of them? The speakers are men aged 70, 10, and 40 respectively. 1) “I know what I’ll do. I’ll wake up this morning and pretend that I can’t hear. That way, my
Here’s an expression that I hear frequently. You may have even said the following words yourself recently. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Yeah? Bring it. You think you’ve got Stupid? Compared to what’s been going on with me this week, you haven’t ever even met Stupid. Stupid doesn’t
“You’re sending me away to boarding school,” intones ninth grader, Melissa. “I’ll never speak to you again.” “But, Honey, you know the schools here locally are terrible,” Mom responds. “You yourself said that you’re not learning anything, that your teachers are uncaring and borderline abusive, that your classmates can barely
Toward the end of the Second World War, one of my dad’s buddies got an infection. He had a high fever and was in the infirmary. His arm swelled up to three times its normal size. There was no doubt but that this young serviceman would die. Except that a
As a rising seventh grader in the summer of 1967 I was invited to lunch at the home of my band teacher. Mr. Abrams lived walking distance from the junior high where he taught and where I would soon attend. The meal was served by his wife, the mother of
Forty year-old, Juan is a two-pack a day smoker, with a sedentary life style and a tire around his tummy that makes the Michelin man look svelte by comparison. Juan can, and frequently does, suck down a six pack of Bud on a Sunday afternoon while watching his beloved Marlins.
Before touring a wilderness therapy program in Hawaii this past March, my wife and I arrived a day early so that we could enjoy the sights of the big island. One of our tourist stops was Volcano National Park. My wife, the science teacher, began explaining about volcano bombs, magma,
There is a story about Enrico Fermi, the great 20th century physicist. A graduate student is trying to impress the professor by spewing off a litany of sub-atomic particles. Fermi puts the student in his place by responding, “Young man, if I could remember the names of those particles, I
My regular gentle readers will know how committed–“obsessed” is such an ugly word–I am to running. I love my running buddies; I love the fact that my risk of dropping dead of heart disease is reduced as a result of our early morning workouts; I love the fact that every
Copyright © David Altshuler 1980 – 2024 | Miami, FL • Charlotte, NC | (305) 978-8917 | david@davidaltshuler.com
