90. Where Did That Book Go? Samuel was back at the thrift shop. He had walked into the shop with only one goal in mind—to find a book that he had NOT bought yesterday. The book was one of seven that he had piled up yesterday. He was going to buy all of them. But […]
89. Take This Job and Shove It Maxwell had not held a steady job in almost two years. Today was a big day, because he was going to a job interview that he felt good about. The secretary he had talked to on the phone sounded friendly and encouraging. Maxwell was a typist. His fingers […]
88. Take Me Out to the Ball Game Ralph and Ilene hadn’t been to a baseball game in about five years. They were only 15 miles from the stadium, but the heavy traffic on game day made those 15 miles seem more like 60 miles. It took about an hour to get to the stadium. […]
87. Golf Like a Girl, Manage Like a Man He was in his 60s. He was short, fat, and arrogant. He was the plant manager, the supervisor, the boss! His name was Tom. He relished every minute of his power. He yelled at the employees. He called them names. He smoked daily, even though it […]
86. Brother, Can You Spare a Carburetor? Daniel needed a new carburetor for his car. Well, not a new one. A new one would cost at least $250. Even a rebuilt one would cost about $110. The cheapest thing to do was to go to a salvage yard. California has about 50 salvage yards. Most […]
85. The Park That Went to the Dogs When Winnie and Arnold bought their house at the end of a cul-de-sac in 1980, they thought they had died and gone to heaven. There were only four houses on the street. Between their house and their neighbor’s house was a dirt pathway. The path led to […]
84. Don’t Go Swimming on an Empty Stomach Pete had lived in Florida for 20 years. A boring 20 years, he often thought. His house was only a 10-minute walk from the Gulf. He walked to the sandy white beach almost every day. Bob’s Liquors was at the corner, halfway to the beach. It was […]
83. Pump Up the Tires and Ride the Bike The blue bike was sitting in Owen’s living room. It had no kickstand, so he had wedged the front tire in between two bookshelves so that the bike would stand upright. Both tires were flat. Dust covered the bike. However, no household spiders had set up […]
82. English Is Confusing “Good evening, everybody!” said the teacher, Donna. “Where is everybody?” That was sort of a daily joke by Donna. Usually the class started with only two or three students present, and then filled up as the minutes went by. It was summertime. Summer school was only eight weeks long. Class attendance […]
81. He Goes to War to Save His Baby Roland was a carpenter in Virginia. He and Sheila had three kids—two boys and baby Jessica. The baby had been in and out of the hospital for the last year because of infections and other problems. She was very weak and sick. The doctors were not […]