Alex Carrick’s Blog

Driven to Write — Enjoy the Ride — Share the Journey

Alex Carrick’s Blog header image 4

Entries Tagged as 'Not As It Seems'

A Curious Case of Bottled-up Passion

January 23rd, 2010 · 3 Comments · Allegory or Fairy Tale, American Humor, Art History, Canada Humor, Career Choices, Charming, Children and Pets, Clash of the Sexes, Cop Humor, Cute, Difficult Decisions, Drama, Fairy Tale, Family Humor, Family Tragedy, Fantasy, Feel Good, General Humor, General Interest, Hard Life Choices, Heartwarming, History, Human Nature, Jokes, Lifestyle, Mystery, Not As It Seems, Oddball, Offbeat, Police Lifestyle, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Screwball, Sexual Innuendo, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists, Technology Advances, Twisted, U.S. Social Commentary, Uplifting, Whimsy, Witty, Zany

Pug-nosed Pat and gum-chewing Chris, two long-time Irish cops, were back on the day shift after a month spent on the night rotation. Their patrol area ranged from the entertainment district in the east to the upscale shopping blocks downtown. Being a cop in these days was quite a different experience than it had been […]

[Read more →]

Tags:·························

The Wizard and the Rose

January 16th, 2010 · 11 Comments · Allegory or Fairy Tale, American Humor, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Cop Humor, Crossed Wires, Drama, Family Humor, Family Tragedy, General Interest, Human Nature, Lifestyle, Mathematics, Not As It Seems, Romance, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists, Theology, Valentine's Day

Liz Stuckey’s marriage to her husband, Brian, was not without its rewards. First, there was their daughter Abby who was a delightful child of eight and accounted for much of Liz’ appreciation of life. Then there was her comfortable existence in the suburbs, with a 3,000 square-foot home and a Lexus in the driveway. Of […]

[Read more →]

Tags:············

The Madame Lazonga Defense

January 1st, 2010 · 9 Comments · Allegory or Fairy Tale, American Humor, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Charming, Clash of the Sexes, Coming of Age, Corruption, Cute, Drama, Entertainment, Family Humor, Family Tragedy, Farce, Funny Corruption, Funny Murder, Funny Scandal, General Humor, General Interest, Historical Romance, Human Nature, Jokes, Lifestyle, Love Triangle, Macabre, Medieval, Murder, Murder Mystery, Not As It Seems, Offbeat, Romance, Romp, Satire, Scandal, Screwball, Sexual Innuendo, Slice of Life, Supernatural, Surprise Twists, Whimsy

It was medieval times in Merry Olde England and tales of knights and dragons, sorcery and witchcraft still held sway over the land. Superstition was rampant and those who could foretell the future were held in high esteem. Revered for being at the top of her profession was Madame Lazonga, a woman who had grown […]

[Read more →]

Tags:···············

Lenny and Keith Flounder in the Shallow End

December 19th, 2009 · 8 Comments · American Humor, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Charming, Clash of the Sexes, Crossed Wires, Cute, Entertainment, Family Humor, Funny Banter, Funny Competition, Funny Dialogue Story, Funny Friends, Funny Generation Gap, Funny Pain, Funny Rant, Funny Sports, Human Nature, Lifestyle, Not As It Seems, Satire, Slice of Life, Sports and Recreation, Storytelling, Surprise Twists, Twisted, Whimsy, Witty

In early September, Leonard Smith covered over his family’s backyard pool and started swimming at the local health club. It wasn’t a fancy club, but it still required a membership fee. This restricted the number of people who had access to the property. Nevertheless, whenever Lenny tried to get in a swim, at lunch or […]

[Read more →]

Tags:···············

Pedro Martinez’ Incredible String of Good Luck

December 6th, 2009 · 8 Comments · Allegory or Fairy Tale, American Humor, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Celebrities, Clash of the Sexes, Construction Humor, Corruption, Cute, Difficult Decisions, Disturbing, Economic Humor, Economics, Entertainment, Family, Family Humor, Funny Family, Funny Rant, Funny Workplace, Hard Life Choices, Human Nature, Jokes, Lifestyle, Mystery, Not As It Seems, Oddball, Offbeat, Parable, Political Humor, Politicians, Rant, Sardonic, Satire, Screwball, Sexual Innuendo, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists, Theology, Twisted, Whimsy, Witty, Workplace, Zany

Pedro Martinez had entered the United States illegally. There was no denying the fact. He was part of a group of 20 individuals brought over in the false back of an 18-wheeler from Mexico in early spring two years ago. To pay for the privilege, he made a cash contribution to his wife’s distant cousin, Jose […]

[Read more →]

Tags:··················

Witness to a Backyard Execution

November 14th, 2009 · 10 Comments · Allegory or Fairy Tale, American Humor, Art History, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Charming, Clash of the Sexes, Coming of Age, Crossed Wires, Family Humor, Family Tragedy, Funny Aging, Funny Banter, Funny Dialogue Story, Funny Family, Funny Generation Gap, Funny Husband & Wife Story, Funny Irony, Funny Parable, Funny Romance, Funny True Love, Human Nature, Lifestyle, Not As It Seems, Romance, Satire, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists

We were all in the backyard to witness an execution – my grandmother, parents, sister and brother. Standing around the fire pit, nana lit the kindling. Then she placed the painting on the pyre. Almost immediately, the canvas was consumed by flames. The more substantial frame took longer. It was a sad moment for all […]

[Read more →]

Tags:···············

The Devil Pulls a Fast One

October 31st, 2009 · 5 Comments · Afterlife, Allegory or Fairy Tale, American Humor, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Celebrities, Charming, Cute, Difficult Decisions, Family, Family Humor, Feel Good, Funny Allegory, Funny Banter, Funny Competition, Funny Dialogue Story, Funny Family, Funny Horror, Funny Religious, Hard Life Choices, Heartwarming, Human Nature, Lifestyle, Not As It Seems, Oddball, Offbeat, Parable, Religion, Religious allegory, Screwball, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists, Theology, Uplifting, Whimsy, Zany

The devil and God were having lunch at the Zeus and Apollo restaurant on The Danforth in Toronto. The devil was partial to Greek food and, while God preferred Middle Eastern fare, He was content to let the devil have his way.   The two didn’t like each other much. But God didn’t see how […]

[Read more →]

Tags:················

I Got Robbed by a Liquor Store

October 12th, 2009 · 6 Comments · American Humor, Bad Taste, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Charming, Cute, Difficult Decisions, Family, Family Humor, Funny Banter, Funny Psychology, Funny Rant, Funny Torture, General Humor, General Interest, Hard Life Choices, Human Nature, Jokes, Lifestyle, Not As It Seems, Oddball, Offbeat, Opinion Piece, Outrageous, Political Humor, Rant, Sardonic, Screwball, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists, Tasteless, Twisted, Whimsy, Zany

I have a story I know needs to be handled with delicacy. Thank goodness “finesse” is one of my middle names. The media often give coverage to some hapless and usually incompetent bad guy who robs a liquor store. However, this time it was the liquor store that robbed me and I’m not happy about it. Nor […]

[Read more →]

Tags:················

The Weatherman, the Economist and the Gypsy Lady

August 25th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Weatherman, the Economist and the Gypsy Lady · Allegory or Fairy Tale, American Humor, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Children and Pets, Coming of Age, Corruption, Crossed Wires, Economic Humor, Family Humor, Family Tragedy, Funny Banter, Funny Corruption, Funny Crystal Ball, Funny Dialogue Story, Funny Horror, Funny Irony, Funny Murder, Funny Noir, Human Nature, Lifestyle, Murder, Not As It Seems, Outrageous, Sardonic, Satire, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists, Twisted

A weatherman, an economist and a little old gypsy lady were attending a forecasters’ convention. After all the speeches and the events of the first day, they met in a bar and had a few drinks together.   As the night wore on, they challenged each other to reveal their worst forecasting errors.   The […]

[Read more →]

Tags:·············

The Ten Minute Date that Changed Everything

July 21st, 2009 · Comments Off on The Ten Minute Date that Changed Everything · American Humor, British Comedy, British Humour, Canada Humor, Funny Banter, Funny Character Study, Funny Dating, Funny Dialogue Story, Funny Embarrassment, Funny Friends, Funny Gotcha, Funny Psychology, Funny Romance, Funny Sex, Funny Sitcom, Funny True Love, Human Nature, Jokes, Lifestyle, Not As It Seems, Politicians, Puns, Romance, Satire, Sexual Innuendo, Slice of Life, Surprise Twists, Valentine's Day

Hank and Harriet, single and alone in their own separate worlds, saw the ads on late-night TV. Their friends encouraged them to give it a try. Now here they were, staring each other down across a tiny table in a hotel ballroom filled with 100 other hopefuls.   They were about to start their final session in […]

[Read more →]

Tags:················