Alex Carrick’s Blog

XaniaXYM-529’s attention was glued to one of thousands of monitors hooked up to the enormous rumbling machine that was focused on the planet a considerable distance away. He was luxuriating onboard his species’ most modern space station. From earth, the craft was hidden in the flotsam that made up Saturn’s ring. The giant device at […]

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Washington has a huge debt problem and the Democrats, Republicans and Tea Party can’t agree on which comes first, increase taxes or lower spending. Here are some innovative answers I’ve come up with, combining both approaches and some “outside the box” ideas, to break the impasse. (1) Privatize the issuing of birth certificates to Donald […]

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Charley Van Dearon was an outdoorsy type who liked fishing, hunting and even scrapping when the occasion warranted. He was rugged of demeanor, with an excess of vigor to go along with a fun-loving nature. Still, he was no one-dimensional cartoon. He had a sensitive and romantic side with deeper thoughts than many of his […]

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Milton Spofford III’s colleagues in the press were bitterly jealous. Fresh out of journalism school, “Spiffy” was as nervous as he could ever imagine being. He’d won the lottery to conduct an exclusive interview with the Queen at a time when Her Highness and family were experiencing a resurgence of interest in Great Britain and […]

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This story is based on a popular joke which I believe has the wrong punch line, that a talking dog turns out to be a big liar. If one starts with the conclusion, then what might the background be? Also, please be sure to read the supplementary section in italics at the end of this tale. […]

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The following attempts to provide an answer to one major mystery attached to the most recent behavior of Osama Bin Laden. By the way, I realize some people may wonder about the “taste” of this piece. That’s why I’m issuing a “gallows humor” alert up-front.  So why did Osama choose to keep his family living in plain sight […]

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Please note: The following story was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2011 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. He’d gotten himself into this mess by volunteering. That’s what happens when you’re an eager beaver. He’d never been one before and he wouldn’t be one next time. What had he been thinking? Surely he knew better […]

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Time: the present. Location: the upstairs master bedroom of a fabulous mansion on Long Island’s Gold Coast. Greta, the maid, knocked on the open door to give advance warning and walked thirty feet to the nightstand. She deposited the breakfast tray and acknowledged with a slight bow the thank you from the Mrs. on the […]

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The following is essentially a monologue as two men face each other, standing on the sidewalk of a small town’s Main Street in Midwest America. The date is the present, on a beautiful spring morning, a time of year when some things need nipping in the bud. The burly one, dressed in a dun-colored uniform […]

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Now that our oldest son Tom has returned to university, it is my task at night to walk our beautiful dog Daisy before we all lay down our heads. While the journey is usually pleasurable, there are always hidden dangers lurking around the corner. This preamble is by way of saying that Farley and Grover […]

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