Short Fiction

Mr. Soloman. 1977

“For now we see the future through a glass, darkly, and yet still the clues to the future are all around us. As time passes both the wisdom and the folly of youth are thrown into sharp relief. In another of his delightful short stories, Dr. F takes a trip back to his childhood adventures with ticks, toads, governments, and flying machines, and reveals some of the crazy clues that were there for us all the time.

MGTOWN

MGTOWN. Picture tumbleweeds rolling down a dusty road, through a town of four hundred and twenty-one hard and lonesome–but not lonely–men and women. Picture three outlaws. Bandits. Ner’do’wells, eager to drum up some quick cash. Feminists, eager for a rape hysteria cash cow. They see some likely prospects but these critters might be a bit too ornery to rustle, a bit different then the placid cattle they’re used to.

Mrs. Drummings

Dr. F comes back with another story that has a deeper story to tell. Wrong doers often use sympathy to avoid consequences to their actions and this is particularly true when it comes to women and their tales of woe. This story is about lost coins, deadly dolls, a crutch thrown into a pool, not just one but two toxic damsels and a society that excuses anything if a woman can squeeze out a few tears. [Illustration by Dr. F]

Pumpski

“I’ve stumbled on somethin’ powerful Ian. If we use this new power properly we can make demands like longer lunches or no more homework and we might even get sympathy money from the school treasury!” So says Pumpski to his friend Ian about the power of fainting. But Pumpski makes a fatal miscalculation on who can get away with a display of hypoagency and who can make demands using it.

Our Dad

What happens when a parent in a dysfunctional family dies? Dr. F brings us “Our Dad”. A story from the heart that will hit all too close to home for those of us who have gone through the death of a parent who fell short of our expectations–but who we found it in ourselves to forgive anyway. Many of us will recognize ourselves in this story. [Illustration by Dr. F]

Snow Angels

From our earliest memories of childhood we can remember the challenges we overcome to become the men we are today, sometimes to the confusion and consternation of the women in our lives. If we were lucky, we had strong fathers to guide us on that journey. A Grumpy Old Man reminds us of how this all should work with a heart-warming and foot-freezing tale of boys passing the test.[Illustration by Europa Phoenix]

Mr Whippy

Dr. F. returns with an essay on, well, shall we say childhood, on innocence stolen because of innocence that is failed to be presumed. How many Mr. Whippy’s do we know that have simply disappeared from our lives, from the lives of our little ones? How do we know they’re guilty of whatever they’re charged of? Why do we assume, especially when the rumors are about a man. Story with original artwork by Dr. F.