“Spreading your wings in a perplexing world”
February, 2021 James Hurd
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Contents
- New story: The Middle Passage
- Words to Ponder
- How to purchase Wingspread: A Memoir of Faith and Flying
- Puzzler of the month
- Writer’s Corner, with a new contest
- Wingspread E-zine subscription information
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New story: The Middle Passage
I survived three years at Orange Intermediate School, but I resent that they forced me to do puberty at the same time.
The first day, l I walked past Jimmy Creech in the hall—a bellowy eighth grader, bereft of grace, who stood six foot five. Creech wasn’t the sharpest needle in the pincushion–it probably took him two hours to watch 60 minutes. But here he came, walking like the Fonz, with a gaggle of admirers following.
I must have said something like, “Hey there,” or “What’s up?”
Creech paused, and turned: “What’d you say?
“Nothin’”
“Come ’ere kid.”
I came.
“Turn around, kid.”
I turned. . . .
To read more, click here: https://jimhurd.com/2021/02/19/the-middle-passage-2/
(*Please leave a comment on the website. Thanks.)
Things to ponder:
If the world had a population of one hundred, the following would be true:
11 are in Europe
5 are in North America
9 are in South America
15 are in Africa
60 are in Asia
49 live in the countryside
51 live in cities
12 speak Chinese
5 speak Spanish
5 speak English
3 speak Arabic
3 speak Hindi
3 speak Bengali
3 speak Portuguese
2 speak Russian
2 speak Japanese
62 speak their own language.
77 have their own houses.
23 have no place to live.
21 are over-nourished
63 can eat full meals.
15 are under-nourished
1 ate her last meal, but did not make it to the next meal.
For 48, the money spent on living for one day is less than US$2.
87 have clean drinking water
13 either lack clean drinking water or have access to a water source that is
polluted.
75 have mobile phones
25 do not.
30 have internet access
70 do not have conditions to go online.
7 received university education
93 did not attend college.
83 can read
17 are illiterate.
33 are Christians
22 are Muslims
14 are Hindus
7 are Buddhists
12 are other religions
12 have no religious beliefs.
26 will live less than 14 years
66 will die between 15 – 64 years of age
8 will live to over 65 years old.
If you have your own home,
eat full meals and drink clean water,
have a mobile phone,
can surf the internet, and have gone to college,
you are in the miniscule, privileged lot (in the less than 7% category).
Puzzler of the month:
February puzzler: number translation
Here are two series of numbers and their equivalents:
Two, nine, seven, nine, 12—That series of numbers equals the number seven.
Three, five, zero—That group of numbers equals the number two.
So, how would you write the number 10? That’s the question.
Answer to the January puzzler
Recall the three boxes that sit on a table, inside one of which is a picture of the fair Rowena. It is the job of the White Knight to figure out – without opening them – which one has the treasured picture.
The gold box says, “Rowena’s picture is in this box.” The silver box says, “The picture is not in this box.” The lead box says, “The picture is not in the gold box.” Only one of the statements is true. Which box holds the picture?
So, two of the statements are false only if the silver box has her picture in it. Therefore, it’s in the silver box. If it’s in the silver box:
The gold statement is false
The silver statement is false
The lead statement is true
Yeah, White Knight!
Best black-and-white movie you’ve ever seen:
That one’s easy for me—Casablanca. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed resistor, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country, but if he does, he will lose her forever.
What’s your favorite black-and-white and why? (I’ll publish these in the next WINGSPREAD.)
Buy James Hurd’s Wingspread: A Memoir of Faith and Flying.
How childhood (Fundamentalist) faith led to mission bush-piloting in South America—and Barbara. Buy it here: https://jimhurd.com/home/ (or order it at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc.)
See pics here related to Wingspread: Of Faith and Flying: http://www.pinterest.com/hurd1149/wingspread-of-faith-and-flying/
Follow “james hurd” on Facebook, or “@hurdjp” on Twitter
Writers’ Corner
Tip of the month: Your whole novel, and each chapter, should have a “plot arc.” The action should rise, climax, then quickly reach its denouement.
Word of the Month: QAnon
A popular conspiracy theory, started by a social media item posted by the mysterious “Q,” which asserts that an international pedophile ring is conspiring to bring down the 45th President of the United States. Many people still believe it.
Watch for my upcoming novel: East Into Unbelief (provisional title)
Sean loses his father, his best girlfriend, his life dream, and finally, his faith. How can he be a good atheist, especially when he’s stuck at Torrey Bible Institute? He can’t see it yet, but grace is coming. . . .
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