Creative Commentary
“Incurable Trump” is Published
Incurable Trump unleashes forty thousand satirical words written from a progressive point of view. If you believe the president and his administration are a danger to the United States and the world, you may enjoy some of the sharp humor in this work. All the key characters have one or more bylines. Donald Trump, inevitably,…
Dolly
“Dolly” is a short story written in 2023. Dolly It’s hotter than hell in Bakersfield, and Boyd, even with the air conditioner blasting, is uncomfortable at his computer. Hours a day for months he’s been writing a screenplay he knows or at least prays will get him some real money before he runs out of…
In the Blue House
Starring Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Ernest Hemingway, this is the first story in “Paint it Blue,” a collection of creative stories about artists. In the Blue House It can’t be too late. This is a meeting so compelling and mandatory that all rules, technicalities, and encumbrances must be ignored. It doesn’t matter they are…
Spurs Fall to Unprecedented Comeback by Knicks
I know we’re supposed to be good sports but this Spurs fan is still seething that they squandered a 29-point lead in the second half last night and lost by 1 to the Knicks, who must be credited for forcing the Spurs into taking endless bad shots during an abject 30-point half. Congrats to OG…
Fallen Star
This is a short story from the collection The Bold Investor Fallen Star Producers and directors often exhorted Martin Stevens to beat or at least be like Errol Flynn, and that seemed attainable. In terms of facial structure, Martin looked as if Flynn had fathered him. Hell, maybe he did. So the sequence was logical…
The Dark Side of Cesar Chavez
I never met Cesar Chavez but that didn’t preclude my having a serious discussion with him that may have proceeded about like the creative story below. As I write this introduction in March 2026, a decade later, I’m disturbed by revelations in the New York Times, following five years of investigative journalism, that the legendary…
Remembering Jesse Jackson
The legendary civil rights leader recently passed away. Who remembers him and who doesn’t? I heard him speak in person and will never forget the experience. Like so many, I was saddened by the passing of Jesse Jackson a few days ago, and have been thinking about images from his prime, in the turbulent sixties…
Julius Caesar v. Benito Mussolini — An Excerpt from “Noteworthy Battles”
This is the first story in my upcoming collection Noteworthy Battles. Other stimulating showdowns include Ulysses S. Grant v. Robert E. Lee, Stalin v. Hitler, John F. Kennedy v. Lyndon Johnson, Hillary Clinton v. Monica Lewinsky, Ernest Hemingway v. F. Scott Fitzgerald, and many others. Noteworthy Battles will be published in the spring of 2026.…
I Shall Paint
We lived in a big, beautiful house in cold Chicago and my mother sometimes told me, “Ruth, you’re fortunate your father makes a very respectable living and someday you’ll be a lady.” I’d merely nod, grimly I suppose. I already felt I was becoming a lady, albeit a different sort than the society matrons my…
Joseph Kleitsch at the Easel
I pull in front of the Santa Ana courthouse and tell my wife, “Hurry up and pay the taxes. I’ve got to get back to the studio.” “Don’t you think the world can wait another day for your next painting?” “Maybe, but the bill collector won’t.” “Relax, Joseph,” Edna says, leaning to kiss my cheek…
“Hitler Here” Still Going Strong After 20 Years
About 20 years ago I entered my first book, the biographical novel “Hitler Here,” in the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest, and sold foreign rights to a Czech publisher who translated and published the work, which I just googled and noted it has three reviews and ratings, all five stars. I’m happy to see…