Once upon a time, there was a fourteen-year-old boy who could finally go back to school after an unfortunate accident with gunpowder and fireworks that caused a six-week absence. In the weeks between the beginning of the 1985-86 school year and the gunpowder accident on Sept 25, this boy joined the South Carroll High School choir and met several upperclassmen.

I Once upon a time, a twelve-year-old boy sat in middle school history class, enjoying the lesson taught on the American Revolution. Mr. Bell taught the course and was one of the few teachers he liked. He’d keep the information from that class because of Mr. Bell’s teaching style. He didn’t make the kids recite boring narratives from textbooks or take endless pop quizzes all year. Mr. Bell would...

I Once upon a time, a fifty-year-old man faced epic writer’s block. He’d been self-publishing his novels since 2011. The first was a short romance-mystery story titled “Without a Word.” It’s not well written (but has since been re-edited not to be so…bad). The psychological thriller “Prisoner of the Game” followed in 2013. As of this 2023 writing, it’s one of his best-sellers, continually...

I Once upon a time, having not learned his lesson, a thirteen-year-old boy was crushing on yet another girl. For these purposes, we’ll call her Kelly, who was in his eighth-grade class. She wasn’t part of the preppy clique. Instead, she was more…redneck, for lack of a better term. Not one of the farmer cliques necessarily. If you were a teenager in the 80s, you’ll no doubt recognize the...

I Once upon a time, a six-year-old boy began second grade at Freedom Elementary School in Eldersburg, Maryland. His new teacher, Ms. Soracoe, was a very pretty woman in her mid-twenties who was as sweet as could be. All the kids in her class adored her. She’d give each of her students a friendly hug when they left her classroom after their bus number was called. That little boy looked forward to...