Keith B. Darrell's Blog, page 29

Which Will She Choose?

An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
Marlene’s mother set a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon before her. “Have you thought about what we discussed last night, dear?”
The teenager swallowed a forkful of egg. “I’m still thinking about it.”
Her father looked up from his coffee. “It’s a terrific opportunity, sweetheart.”
Mrs. Prentice shot her husband a reproachful look. “We’ll support whatever decision you make, dear. I realize it’s not easy being u...

I Saw What You Did There

Last month, a story went viral about a 23-year-old Australian man who was upset with Facebook because the social network refused to allow him to have a profile under his name – Phuc Dat Bich. No, that wasn’t his reply to Facebook; that’s his actual name.
The story made news both because it was funny and because it pointed out a flaw in Facebook’s questionable policy requiring “real names” which has often resulted in Facebook refusing to believe an individual’s proffered name was legitimate. Ho...

The Train is Coming!

An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
Tucker Bryant darted to the rear of this bus and tugged on the lever. He grunted. “It’s wedged in there tight. I can’t move it.”
Vanessa Carlyle screamed. The red crossing gate lights flashed and the warning bell had sounded, signaling the approach of a train. The red and white striped wooden crossing gate swooped down, smashing onto the front of the school bus, before breaking off. “I see the train!” Vanessa...

If Turkeys Could Speak…

As you sit down for dinner this Thanksgiving, pause for a moment to ponder the meaning of the holiday. If you are a Millennial, a recent Pew poll suggests 40 percent of you are clueless as to why we should be thankful this day.

One of the first Thanksgiving celebrations occurred in the American colonies, in Plymouth Colony (now Southeast Massachusetts) in 1621 when the Pilgrims shared an autumn harvest feast with the Wampanoag Indians. The Indians brought deer, not turkey, so venison was the m...

Interview with a Terrorist

Q:  First off, I’d like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to interview you.
A:  It is my pleasure to speak to the Americans and other Westerners through you so that they may learn how we have plotted their destruction.

Q: When you say “we”, you’re referring to ISIS I presume?
A: We are the Islamic State – al-Dawla al-Islamiya.

Q: How long have you been a member of ISIS; excuse me, I mean the Islamic State?
A: For many years now. At one time, we were known as al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Q:...

What Would You Do?

An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
Mackenzie watched the school parking lot disappear in the rear window of the yellow school bus. “You know what this means, Marlene?”
Marlene shot him a quizzical look. “What?”
Mackenzie grinned. “An extra day to finish our English term paper. Field trips are awesome.” He opened his brown bag. “Ham and cheese. What’d you get?”
Marlene peered inside hers. “PB and J.”
“Trade you halves.” He handed her half of his s...

Another Shameful Day in U.S. History

A few days ago, in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, I wrote: “But don’t go off on a Xenophobic rant against allowing refugees into our country. Not everyone from the Middle East is a terrorist. For most of them, terrorist attacks like the ones in Paris we’ve seen this week are part of their daily lives. They are fleeing their homelands because they are fleeing terrorism. They are scared, literally frightened for their lives, to the point where they have left their homes and belongings...

Trigger Warning: Hold on to Your Teddy Bear

Has America raised a generation of wimps? 
College campuses are awash with a series of innovations designed to mollycoddle university students who are old enough to vote but not old enough to step out into the big bad world of college without “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces”. At the same time, the most privileged generation of minority students – who never in their lives experienced the terrible racism that was a daily part of their grandparents’ lives – angrily protest so-called “whi...

Red Friday in Paris

Black Red Friday in Paris
On Friday the thirteenth, November 2015, Paris was struck by a series of synchronized terror attacks that left 129 dead and 352 wounded, many with life-threatening injuries. In an all too familiar scenario, reminiscent of the earlier Parisian attack in January on the offices of satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, global leaders have decried the attacks, families have grieved, and civilized people of all nations are horrified and outraged while expressing their condolences...

Dad’s Going to Ground Me Until I’m 40!

An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
Mackenzie looked around the room. “What’s that humming noise?”
Zigs shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard it before.” His eyes scanned the bedroom. “Look! The ship in a bottle you gave me is glowing.”
“What’s strange about that? You told me it was solar-powered.”
“Yeah, it lights up, but not like that. It had little lights coming from inside the ship, through the portholes. But now, the whole bottle is shin...