Publisher's Synopsis
As the title indicates, this collection of short stories is eclectic, ranging from pathos to comedy, with the writing at the very least mediocre, sometimes actually almost above average. They were collected personally by the named compiler, me, as I dodged bullets, skied double black diamond runs without a helmet, fought the bareknuckle champ of Papua New Guinea, danced with an admittedly aging Ginger Rogers, free dove to a record 407 while tied to a Weddell seal, won the World Free Lance Bocce Ball Championship against the great Canadian Bocce player Les Miserable, and did a lot of other seemingly impossible things over a seventy year career of searching for great short prose. My one criterion was 'could I stay awake long enough to finish the story?' All these stories, except one, met that criterion. The one that didn't I included anyway because it was in my hand when I woke up and I thought the first half was pretty good. I didn't read the second half so if you read this book I'd appreciate knowing what you think of it. I don't remember which one it is, so readers who want to help me out will have to read at least the last halves of all eight stories and tell we which one you thought I fell asleep on and how you liked it. No prizes for this. I have made a fortune from writing, but I gave it all to the former bare knuckle champ of Papua New Guinea because I felt sorry for him. He, in turn, sends me food stuffs from New Guinea, which is how I live. That and a love stipend from a lovely French lady who was quite young and beautiful when we were lovers seventy years ago. I don't know what she looks like now. She won't send pictures. Just money. I take it, although I do declare it as foreign income on my tax returns. Pleasant reading.
