From the book "Twisted by the Wind" Ben used to go down to the park on Sundays with Frankie, his cousin. They were about nine or ten at the most. One particular summer, things got real interesting. Frankie had learned how to look out for himself by that time. He could about squeeze himself into anything interesting that was going on and make it work out for his own benefit. His momma spent a lot of time working, and, with no father to turn to, Frankie kind of grabbed on to B

A very important part of living a more fulfilling life is the exploration of your creative self to release the imaginative potential awaiting there. Many people have gone through life never stepping outside the traces of humdrum everyday activities long enough to find out who they really are, creatively speaking. You may have harbored urges to "someday" spend more time on that dream of becoming and living more artistically, but have never taken the time to actually do it. W

The waters of change come sweeping over the shifting sands of life. If you can imagine, you can see the crystalline sandy particles rolling past in the movement of the waves as they come in and then move out, come in and move out, these "waves of change", bringing with them more sand to our lives, more debris, more "things" to deal with. And in your imagination you look closer, and you see that the sand grains gleam and sparkle through the water when the sunlight catches

One of the important steps to achieving a fulfilling, more rewarding life is to realize the ramifications of this simple observation: A PEARL is the only natural gemstone that can be made in a human lifetime. A tiny grain of sand or piece of dirt gets inside the shell of an oyster. That creature’s way of dealing with an irritation is to coat it over, over and over, until it becomes a smooth thing of deep beauty, the pearl. Much like the oyster, we too must manage life’s irrit

I love book stores, and the opportunity to spend a few hours in one greeting my readers and personally signing a book for them is a special treat for me. Book club gatherings are great, too. I enjoy talking about my books and telling a story or two. Readers are nice people. #photo #TomHays #friendship #humor #inspiration #shortstories #Booksignings #bookclubs

"This is a story I wrote a while back. I had just lost yet another old friend, and the memories were heavy on my mind. The thought of the many seasons that had come and gone in our friendship inspired me to tell this story, WINTER'S END." John lay in a darkened room, motionless, staring at the ceiling fan above as it made involuntary, slow circles, pushed by the air register on the wall above his head. Apart from that, John was conscious of nothing else in his surroundings.

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