Mix And Match contains two short stories. End of a Career is a humorous account of rural Idaho. S.O.S. details the efforts of an old whale to save his family.
In End of a Career a rancher/teacher breaks his shoulder. The pain causes him to reassess his life and reflect on his teaching career.
He battles Mother Nature to endure great physical pain but finds it preferable to teaching in the public school system. Written to be funny, it ends up bitter sweet.
In S.O.S., an old whale comes upon a mother whale and her starving son. They capture his heart and beg for him to save them.
The whale teams up with a Benwarian traveler who is prompted by the Creator to save the whales from extinction. It is a touching story of mankind's disregard for other life forms.
Excerpt
"Did I ever tell you about Dr. Swan?" he asked holding his thumb up. Actually, he didn't have one, it was just a nub and he was waving it back and forth proudly. "He fixed my thumb," he said.
I could have done that," I said unimpressed, "all he did is cut if off. I've got a meat cleaver in the back of the pickup."
"Naw, let me tell you the story. I was pounding a fence post in when I went too high with the pounder. My thumb got caught between the post and the pounder. The force pinched my thumb right off. I picked it up off of the ground and drove myself to the hospital. Dr. Swan.."
Pieces of Eight is an eclectic collection of eight imaginative novellas/short stories. Themes represented in the work are science fiction, paranormal, psychological drama, humor, murder/revenge and astrological fulfillment. Pieces of Eight is the com
