The Castle Church Door

“I see you’ve come back.”“Yes, Mike. It happens every day after work. Amazing, isn’t it?” Larry stretched and glanced over at the chessboard that Mike had set up. “Another game? You can’t be serious.”“Indeed I am,” Mike responded.“But I beat you six times in a row yesterday, and they were all Scholar’s Mates.”“No you didn’t. And your use of the term ‘Scholar’ there is pejorative.”“That’s the name of ...

Men are natural explorers. Born with a wanderlust gene. Women criticize men for failing to ask directions, yet if Columbus had stopped to ask for directions, we’d all be speaking Hindi.But by the year 1978, when Percy graduated from High School, every square inch of space that could be explored, had been explored. The surface of the globe. The oceans. The rainforests. Subterranean caves. The solar system. Unmanned ...

Opening hostilities in the Wafer Wars commenced when a renegade monk by the name of Sensibilius published a commentary on the Gospel of John in which he suggested that the words, “I am the true bread,” should be interpreted figuratively rather than literally.His book was immediately placed on the index, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and he was promptly burnt at the stake.That seemed ...

Jack Glenfinnan was bigwig. He wasn’t a bigwig in his own right. No, he was a bigwig because he was a courtier to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Jack was well-known for being well-known to the well-known. A somewhat parasitic identity, to be sure, but as long as Bonnie Prince Charlie’s fortunes were on the rise, Jack’s own stock rose accordingly. But when the career of the Young Pretender took ...

Mona Brown was a God-fearin’ woman. A good student in school. She married a minister. Raised five kids on a pittance. Everyone who knew her loved her.But Mona always envied Tiffany. Tiffany was the Homecoming Queen. Mona used to tutor Tiffany in algebra, geometry, and biology while Tiffany was glossing her toenails. Mona knew it was a sin to envy Tiffany, but Mona was tired of feeling invisible ...