stephenschrum

Storytelling 101? They Need the Remedial Class!

I started a new theatre and performance group called StoryZ because I think storytelling is at the center of what it means to be human, Yes, sometimes people weave tales that end up as conspiracy theories, but my premise is still sound. However, not everyone who tries to tell a story is any good atContinue reading “Storytelling 101? They Need the Remedial Class!”

Talk About Inflation!

I think we can all agree that prices have risen dramatically in the last few years. While many people blame the current president and the baby’s blood-drinking Democrats, the real reason is corporations. They find they can raise prices and people will still buy things. And don’t get me started on “shrinkflation.” I always rememberContinue reading “Talk About Inflation!”

The Polls Take a Toll

This primary election day found us once again volunteering to work at the polls. I was a bit horrified at the location: the boro building of Youngstown, PA. It’s a garage used by the city maintenance people. It’s as dirty as you might expect such a building to be, with dust and rust to beContinue reading “The Polls Take a Toll”

How My Mind Works

I recently read a poem called, “My Mind Is a Kaleidoscope,” that was inspired by my mother sitting in a nursing home, with dementia nipping at her brain cells. She also often had urinary tract infections, which made her hallucinate and contact dead relatives, and I had to visit the nurses’ station and urge themContinue reading “How My Mind Works”

Invoking Kilgore Trout

Kurt Vonnegut invented the writer/character Kilgore Trout as a kind of Doppelgänger of himself. He appears in several of Vonnegut’s novels. There’s one Trout story—I think it’s in Breakfast of Champions—that’s about a man who thinks he’s the only non-robot in the world. As a result, he feels very isolated. In the common parlance ofContinue reading “Invoking Kilgore Trout”

Improv Now? No….

Last week was a banner week for the surprise texters. Most notable were the two who wanted me to think it was a wrong number, and one who found me on a dating site I had never heard of before. She at least kept the conversation going, but the one I include below wasn’t upContinue reading “Improv Now? No….”

It’s About Sex? Bay-bee!

A few years back I was sitting at a traffic light grooving to Foghat’s song, “Slow Ride” on the radio. And then, suddenly, as if it was my first time hearing it, I said, probably, aloud, “Holy wow, it’s about sex!” Of course I prefer hidden metaphorical references rather than something that needs to beContinue reading “It’s About Sex? Bay-bee!”

An Allegory in A Desert

Two men stand in a barren desert, with nothing to be seen for miles in any direction. They face each other head on, staring into each other’s eyes, unmoving, sizing the other up. Then one of them twists his body back and raises his right arm, and releases a slap that lands on the other’sContinue reading “An Allegory in A Desert”

I Know You! Or Do You…?

Yesterday I encountered a variation of the scam text. Usually they purport to have contacted me by a wrong number, but this one knew who I was. It’s how she said she knew me that was the problem. I had to Google to find out that there is indeed a dating site called Tagged. ToContinue reading “I Know You! Or Do You…?”