Latest "Short Vignettes & Anecdotes" files
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Timeslippin’ With Gene

Things That Make You Say "Hmmmmm": Timeslippin’ With Gene

This is a true thing that happened to me. And better, it happened to me and a friend together, so there's a corroborating witness.

Back in high school, me and my friends Chris, whom I call Gene, and Scharf made plans to hang out at Gene's house after school. Gene and I both had 9th period free, so we met at the beginning of 9th period in the SWAS room. Scharf had said he'd meet us there at the end of 9th period, the last period of the day.

I was in an alternative education program, School Within A School, in high school. It was in a big room with couches instead of desks, no grades, etc., it's a whole other story. But SWAS met for the first few periods of the day, and after that, the SWAS room, full of couches, was a…

Writing » Anecdotal Evidence (True Stories) » Short Vignettes & Anecdotes
These Are The People In My Neighborhood

These Are The People In My Neighborhood

Some assorted reminscences of characters I occasionally run across in my day.

Writing » Anecdotal Evidence (True Stories) » Short Vignettes & Anecdotes
The Funniest Man In The World

These Are The People In My Neighborhood: The Funniest Man In The World

The other night I talked to my old friend Zigmo Parcheesi, the funniest man in the world. He told me he took his toddler son Max to his first movie. "Oh, yeah?" I asked. "What did you choose to scar him with?"

"Porn. We took him see some hardcore pornography. Told him we were going to show him how he was made. 'Not like that.... not like that... not like that... Yes! Like that!... No, no, not like that!... Not like that... not like that...'"

A few years ago, Zigmo moved out to the edge of the woods in northern New Jersey. I asked him, "New Jersey? have you seen the jersey devil yet?"

Without missing a beat, he said, "No, I haven't seen the jersey devil, but I have been to the mall."

Later, before getting off the phone, he told me, "If you ever…

Writing » Anecdotal Evidence (True Stories) » Short Vignettes & Anecdotes
cmism1zdu8xyha!

Question of the day: When was the first time you noticed someone cheating at something?

A few years back, my friend Al Katkowski was something of a success with his "Question Of The Day" iphone app and subsequent book. This was a question from the book.

Question of the day: When was the first time you noticed someone cheating at something?

Actually, the first person I noticed cheating would be myself. I totally figured it out on my own before ever seeing anyone else do it. I think I got my first inkling when I was 4 and tried to tell my friend Stephen Axeman I was 4 1/2, not 4, because I thought it made me sound grownup. Somehow he knew I wasn't 4 1/2! So when I turned 4 1/2, I told him again, and he said, "Yes, today you are." I never found out how he knew exactly when my half-birthday was, but it was an epiphany that mysterious means…