James Pyles's Blog, page 112
November 11, 2018
Honoring Our Veterans
My family and I were over at my wife’s niece’s place today (where these photos were taken) helping her move stuff out of storage, out of her garage, and into a shed and workshop behind her house. My Dad and son both served in the military, and this being Veteran’s Day, I thought I should say something […]
The Aulegren’s Children
It’s a tourist attraction now, but they still tell the stories, all ending with the heroic victory over a powerful enemy, perpetually frozen in their equine warrior form. But humans were the invaders, twelve colony ships, master guidance control damaged. AI was smart enough to detect the problem but not repair it, so it found […]
Quoting: Your Anger Causes You Harm
The Talmud states: “When a person becomes angry, he acquires only his anger.” There are usually no benefits in becoming angry at others. Becoming angry merely causes harm to your health and makes you feel miserable. Your anger does not help you, and the person you are angry with usually pays less attention to what […]
November 10, 2018
Another Very Nice Rejection
It was actually sort of encouraging: Thank you for submitting “The Demon in the Mask” to *****. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite meet the needs of our *****. It’s an engaging story, with a satisfying arc, but we feel that it falls more within the realm of Fantasy than Horror. Thanks for submitting, and best wishes […]
A Slight Miscalculation
Eccentric billionaire Randolph Houston was making the adjustments on the temporal transfer device at the bottom of Arizona’s Grand Canyon as his fourth wife, 26-year-old Paulette watched. “Why not wait for that expert, what’s his name?” “Carlos Bradley, and he’s late.” The aging scientist continued his adjustments. “What is he? A geologist, paleontologist, archaeologist?” “All, […]
Quoting: Life as a Growth Seminar
When people go to workshops and seminars that will help them develop and grow, they are willing to try out all types of exercises and experiments. They consider it fun and enjoyable to do things that they have not done before and might even have experienced as distressful. But since it is being defined as […]
November 9, 2018
Quoting: Assess Your Growth in Marriage
Everyone wants a happy marriage. The best way to ensure a happy marriage is to master the ability to experience joy in your life with each moment of growth. And each moment is an opportunity to grow. There are many forms of growth in marriage. Growth can mean you are happy with your marriage and […]
November 8, 2018
The Devil’s Day
Everybody calls me the Devil, and right now I wish I really was, because the only way I’m gonna save little 10-year-old Gracie Budd’s life is to stop a real Devil. Hard to believe, it being so quiet, green, and peaceful out here, but I ain’t got much time if I’m going to stop Albert […]
Quoting: Learn from All of Life
Be resolved to learn constantly from everyone in your immediate surroundings. When you see someone with positive character traits, learn from him traits you can work on developing. And when you see someone with negative traits, focus on the harm of having those traits! Keep learning from life itself. There is no phenomenon in the […]
November 7, 2018
One Honest Man
“A totem pole? I’ve known you for forty years, and you never told me you were native.” Leon Bell stood, looking incredulously at the creation of his friend and neighbor Marshall Griffin. “I’m not, but why can’t I have my own monument to the symbols that I consider important?” “But this is a public park. […]
