Letters From Alex

Throughout much of the world, the summer of 1816 was colder and darker than usual due to a massive cloud of dust released from a volcano the year previous. Famine and depression became everyday affairs.

A group of friends vacationing on the shore of Lake Geneva, kept inside by the dreary weather, entertained themselves by coming up with scary stories, an excellent pastime for such situations. The group included the famous poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, but the best story came from Shelley’s 18-year-old lover (and soon-to-be wife): Mary.

Continue reading “Monsters”

I read the news today, oh boy.

So sings John Lennon in the Beatles song “A Day in the Life.” I’m feeling that these days when I look at the news. Climate change becoming apocalyptic. Covid refusing to leave. Countries falling into evil hands. Politicians and people acting more dimwitted than ever.

Continue reading “Lessons in Coping”

There’s an episode of the old Dick Van Dyke show (one of my all-time favorite sitcoms) where Rob (Dick’s character) borrows a friend’s cabin in the woods so he can finally get the time and space to write his novel.

He sets up his writing equipment then…

He plays paddleball a long while, then tries to fix the slight slant of his writing table, then repairs an old crate to use as a trash basket. When he finds a cowboy hat, holster, and pistols, he can’t resist strutting around like a cowboy and drawing his pistols for a mock quick fire.

Continue reading “Do you wish you could write alone in a cabin?”