In this special section of my Blog I have articles and stories about the unusual and extraordinary, and maybe even perplexing…but always entertaining and educating. In my book “The Chrysalis” one of the main characters tells us- “The mysteries of the universe were never meant to be secrets”. Life is an amazing journey and in this very important corner of my blog I hope you experience the same sense of wonder in these amazing stories that I felt while writing them. Take care and enjoy. –km

ADOLF HITLER—“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world that he didn’t… exist survive!” 

The Greatest Horn Player of Our Time.

My New Fictional Story–The Red Truck of Christmas: Creating a Legend.

An interesting look at the story behind the story of my new micro-book-(only 30 pages) entitled The Red Truck of Christmas! Just “Click on the Picture”

Paul Simon once said while he sat at the piano trying to write a song, suddenly the words, “Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will lay me down” came out. He stopped suddenly, and stunned, sat there and began to cry.

There was a moment in writing The Red Truck of Christmas that I experienced something similar. Click on the picture to go to the story.

In 1843 -London England, Christmas was a holiday barely celebrated. It all changed when a down and out, young writer by the name of John Huffam, after three failed books, found himself on the verge of bankruptcy. This is his story. Just click on the picture!

Some say he saved untold thousands of lives during WWII, and he might have saved Pearl Harbor from the Japanese attack had an inept FBI Director “not” stepped in. This is the amazing story of the “real” James Bond.

Just click on the picture.

Perhaps it is one of the greatest mysteries, as well as the greatest disasters, ever to take place on Illinois waterways; the sinking of the riverboat Columbia. Even today it continues to haunt the pages of American history.  Now over a hundred years later, I wanted to find the place where 87 people died and hundreds more were injured; a place that, even today, remains unmarked and unremembered. Could I really find the ghost of the Columbia? To try, my search to find the Columbia would have to begin with that cool evening on July 4^th , 1918 when it all happened.  CLICK ON PICTURE

Have we matured as civilized human beings to the point that we are truly ready for what we might find, or more to the point, what might find us? JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURE.

Circa 1953, a farmer found a sink hole on his property. Thinking one of his goats  had fallen in and not realizing that the hole was actually the mouth of a cave; he had two two friends lower him down into the strange opening to retrieve the animal. Suddenly the rope thrashed violently as screams of terror echoed up from the darkness below. When the farmer was pulled up, his arms and legs splayed like a rag doll in the makeshift harness, his lifeless head thrown back, his dead eyes still wide from the horror of what he saw. It was rumored that he had seen the face of Satan himself. 

Is it possible that life is merely fate, existence determined by little more than a random roll of the dice?  Or could it be something more? Consider the amazing story of the Wizard’s coat…. CLICK ON THE PICTURE

When you’re a kid, everything is alive with possibility, there are no boundaries, everything is just waiting for you to touch it, to give it life. You live in a world where witches and fairies and fairy-god mothers, and even homemade cars, are all real and you believe that, because you know, with out a doubt, that “magic” is real.  CLICK ON THE PICTURE.

Is it possible that anything good could ever come from someone who is an Arab? Consider Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz. Born January 6, 1912 born in Deerfield Michigan, the son of a Lebanese family that migrated to America.

In the politically charged environment of today it is easy to forget that political distention has been alive and well for a very long time. The question is, after all is said and done, after all the damage is inflicted rendering friendships irreparably and critically scared, and the battles that were fought, seemingly so important at the moment, are lost and forgotten in just a few short heartbeats of time. And for what? When will we ever learn? CLICK ON THE PICTURE

Journey into one of the most fascinating castles ever. When I first wrote this article and put it on Facebook I had no idea that it would be read by thousands. Like many, my memories of the Castle on Grandview Drive and of its owner, my friend, David Haase have been a real pleasure to share with so many people. I hope you enjoy.

 

Remembering one of the most gifted comedians and my friend…Bob Newhart.

History is full of strange ironies, and perhaps one of the strangest is The Great Lincoln “Irony”.   

I heard about this years ago from a Paul Harvey broadcast, but there was more to it than even Paul realized.

Sometimes reality can be stranger then fiction.

A new video, free to the public, was released on YouTube, on January 13, 2018 commemorating the famous sinking of the river boat “Columbia” on July 4th, 1918. The video features original photographs and a music score with two new, original songs in a unique telling of what has been described as one of the greatest maritime disasters in American history, causing the deaths of 87 people and injuring hundreds more. Running time is 7 minutes 22 seconds.

The true story of a Hydrogen Bomb lost off the coast of Savannah Georgia, February 5, 1958, and was never recovered.  CLICK ON THE PICTURE.