Christopher Orlet
Even superstitions have their uses. Take the notion that the fiddle and banjo are the devil’s instruments. Or that certain crackerjack guitar heroes sold their souls to Mephistopheles. Such quaint beliefs kept traditional stringed instruments out of the homes of…
On the last day of school my normally stoic creative writing teacher strode into the classroom and giddily announced: “I’m going on sabbatical to Florence. I’ll be back in a year….Or two.” The next day I officially changed majors. Goodbye…
In Waterloo, Illinois a man stands accused of strangling to death his wife and two small children. The accused, Chris Coleman, worked as a bodyguard for the televangelist Joyce Meyer. After work, he was diddling his wife’s best friend. Prosecutors say rather…
Like characters in a Dystopian novel, the four teenagers were out for a bit of the old ultra-violence. Only they had another name for it. Sometimes they called it the “Knockout Kings,” after the series of video games. (Rated M…
I have never seen a UFO, but I do work with several people who have. And no I don’t work for the Air Force, the FBI, or the Dennis Kucinich campaign. I toil at a dying newspaper where the dour…
Saturday morning I was rocketed out of bed by the usual wake-up screech of a car alarm. For a moment, I was poised to reach for my Louisville Slugger and do a “Rectifier” on the offending automobile (if you don’t…
My son being one of the smart kids, I am obliged to attend a lot of high school functions. All these events tend to feature the obligatory inspirational-type speaker (a politician, lawyer, or clergyman) who unfailingly parrots the same message….
A local man was one of those killed by an Islamic extremist this month at Frankfort International Airport in Germany. The German-born Kosovo Albanian was targeting American servicemen on their way to Afghanistan. Airman 1st Class Zachary Cuddeback, 21, was at…
Reader reactions to Amy Chua’s memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Motherhave ranged from shell-shocked to post-traumatic stress disorder. Some have demanded Chua be brought up on charges. Others have branded her a social pariah. Chua’s response: Talk to me…
When I was in school we boys used to sing a silly rendition of “On Top of Old Smoky” in which “we shot our poor teacher with a .44 slug.” Today, if a student sang that childish ditty, he would…
