“Spreading your wings in a perplexing world”
May, 2022                           James P. Hurd

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Contents

• New story
• This month’s puzzler
• Writer’s Corner
• How to purchase Wingspread: A Memoir of Faith and Flying
• Wingspread E-zine subscription information

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 New story: Center Street Elementary

At school, you tried to stay away from bullies. But Gary, a terrifying pustule of ego with bulbous eyes and puffy face, gave me my first bloody nose. And Sherman, with an IQ below the range of his body temperature, would wear only a white tee shirt and loved to push boys down in the gravel. I avoided him until the day Mom invited him to go to church with us. . . .

To read more, click here:   The World of Center Street Elementary | Wingspread (jimhurd.com)

(*Please leave a comment on the website. Thanks.)

Puzzler of the month

Here’s a good one. See if you can guess it.

Clue #1 – The person who makes it doesn’t need it. 
Clue #2 – The person who buys it doesn’t use it. 
Clue #3 – The person who uses it doesn’t know it. 

What is it?
Hint: It’s something tangible.

Answer to last month’s puzzler: 

You recall the tourist site where, even after they posted warning signs for the tourists, pickpocketing incidents rose. Why?

The reason: Tourists saw the signs, then checked their pockets for wallets, cellphones, passports. The pickpockets then knew exactly where to look!

Writers’ Corner

Watch for my upcoming novel: Blessed Unbeliever (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, but grace is coming . . .

Tip of the month: Everyone wishes to write with emotion. But you don’t want to describe your emotions; rather you want so your reader to feels the same emotions.

Word of the Month:  nominalization. A verb turned into a noun. Often these are “-ion” or “-ing” words (intention, revising, presentation). They produce sentences such as these: “The intention of this committee is to work on revising the presentation.” Try changing this sentence to: “The committee intends to revise the presentation.” Clean up your nasty nominalizations.

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 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

Wisdom gained over the years: 

My wife asked me to help prepare our 4-year-old for his first day at school….
….So I stole his lunch

Whenever it rains, my wife just stands at the window looking sad….
….Do you think I should let her in?

If anyone knows how to fix broken hinges….
….My door is always open.

There’s nothing like a brisk fall morning….
….To keep me in bed till noon.

There’s no excuse for laziness….
….But if you find one, let me know.

Where do you take someone who’s been injured in a peek-a-boo accident?….
….To the I.C.U.

And here’s a last one for writers — Doctor: I’m sorry, I had to remove your colon….
….Me Why

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