They come every spring, my osprey family. From Central America, Mexico, Baja California, along the Southern California coast back up the Pacific Flyway, to the rivers and estuaries of the Mendocino coast. To this place. To my place. There is an instinct of staying...

 “Every man looks at his wood-pile with a kind of affection. I love to have mine before my window, and the more chips the better to remind me of my pleasing work. I had an old axe which nobody claimed, with which by spells in winter days, on the sunny side of the...

 At three o’clock in the morning a great horned owl hooted outside my bedroom window. Moonlight laughed in the forest. The rain had stopped and the weather had cleared up and I had to get up to pee but I didn’t want to leave my warm bed. I felt like that owl who had...

 I’ve had a number of friends say they miss me on social media.  But, when I ask if they’ve read my blog, my novel or my book,of short stories, the answer is often “it’s on my list.” I can’t help but think of the essay Literature and Life by Mario Vargas Llosa.It...

“Si tuviera que salvar del fuego una sola de las novelas que he escrito, salvaría esta.”(“If I had to save from the fire just one of the novels I have written, I would save this one.”) — Mario Vargas Llosa referring to Conversación en La Catedral. In his novel,...

 In my 1890 edition of Alfred Marshall’s Principles of Economics, the great economist defines economics as “a study of man’s actions in the ordinary business of life.” Too often we only see the highlights: the pivotal conversations, the dramatic turns, the “act...

 During this dark time of ICE raids, I decided to repost this poem/story I posted back in 2016. It's based on a true story told to me by a friend I met in Oaxaca Mexico. [FYI: Read about my newly published book of short stories HERE] The Crossingfor my friend, Renato...

 The cities were the first to go when the robots took over.“For the reason Willie Sutton robbed banks,” chatted Gee Bee Tee.You can run but you can’t hide, said someone.“A few of us in the backwaters carry on like killifish in vernal pools where our CBRN (Chemical,...

 Children's Stories: Click on the picture to read the story. Bebop and Beezie Visit the Land of Manynuts The Day Of Choose Your Own Color Horace Cucumber Rumplescowlson Oscar The Worm To The Rescue

  I'm working on a new book - The Frolic Cafe. I started this project some time ago but abandoned the idea for lack of time. I am now well into the writing/editing phase. Below are several collages you may recognize. These were the featured art for the first draft of...

 Unfinished Short Stories© 2024 David Herstle Jones Think in The Morning Short stories are currently being edited for publication.