I had a pet otter for about two years when I was growing up in the dusty farming town of Fessenden, North Dakota. His name was Joe and we played together quite a lot. My best friend, Carol, played with him, too. I should mention Joe was imaginary. Carol had a bird named Hi-low who […]
Growing Up: From Otters to Elvis Read More »
“… the pinnacle of hyenic humor, was the hyena, the classic hyena, that hit too far back while running, would circle madly, snapping and tearing at himself, until he pulled his own intestines out, and then stood there, jerking them out and eating them with relish. “‘Fisi,’ M’Cola would say and shake his head in
Dave Barry, Novelist: The M’cola Perspective Read More »
You know, that’s what my sockeyetrist told me. “Catherine,” he said, “you’ve got a person in you, another person besides you, and that person is all the time telling you, ‘Catherine, you’re no good, Catherine, you can’t do thus and that.’ And you are trying to become yourself, but that
A Bunch of Felonies Read More »
White antlers of the night exacerbate my soul. There were gerbils at angles unheard of, perpendicular to themselves. These gerbils: my little sister in her prom dress more expensive than mine. This was in Cleveland. And so on. And so on. This is the kind of thing they mostly print these days, desperate attempts to
During the afternoon of my 21st birthday, I was standing by the garden along one side of our house with my father, Walter McCollum. We were looking at the peony buds as they prepared to bloom into great globes of cream and magenta. The sepals were alive with black ants. “Those *%*)(#! ants!” my father
Mother *%*)(#! Tongue Read More »
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Four shots ripped into my groin and I was off on the greatest adventure of my life!” – Max Shulman, *Sleep ‘Til Noon* Shulman’s parody of Mickey Spillane’s tougher than tough guy style probably represents what most people thought of “detective stories” when I was young. They were considered one of
Low Tastes I – John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee Read More »