Spreading wings in a perplexing world
September, 2025                                                    James P. Hurd

Please forward and share this zine with others. Thank you.

Contents

• Writer’s Corner
• Blessed Unbeliever 
• This month’s story: “Silver Acres Formed Me”
• This month’s puzzler: “Island of Truth and Lies”
• WINGSPREAD Zine subscription information
• Wisdom

Writer’s Corner

This section betrays my belief that to be a writer is to be a lover of words. Words and human speech―miracles that brand humans as sentient creatures―creative, inventive, exploring. Taste the words as they roll around in your mouth, marvel at them, let them fill you with a sense of wonder.

Writer’s tip: First-person-present tense is gripping, immediate. It’s hard to write in this tense but give it a try. (Example: “I park the car in front, get out and walk up to the door. . .”)

Task for you: Try writing a 100-word paragraph using only the present, first-person tense.

Word of the month: GOBSMACKED (Obsolete) To be a writer is to be a word-lover, including obsolete words. This word comes from Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It still pops up in other places in British slang―for example, “shut your gob!” If you say that you were “gobsmacked” it means that you were so astonished, it was as though someone had smacked you in the mouth (Wikipedia). A phrase with a similar meaning: “Slapped upside the head,”

Book of the month: The biblical book of Ruth. A marvelous story about a foreign refugee woman (Moabite) who travels into Israel, finds a living, finds love and becomes an ancestor of King David and of Jesus. Hear her aching, immortal words to Naomi, her mother-in-law“—Beseech me not to leave thee . . .”

BLESSED UNBELIEVER novel

Sean McIntosh ingested fundamentalism along with his mother’s milk. And yet as he reached his late teens his doubts overwhelmed him and he proclaimed himself an atheist—while attending Torrey Bible Institute! This is his story.

Available in paper or Kindle version at Wipf and Stock Publishers, Amazon https://a.co/d/9su5F3o or wherever good books are sold.

New story: “Silver Acres Formed Me”

When I entered sixth grade, Jim Hayden, who always wore a dark suit, white shirt and tie, taught our Sunday School class. To get to his classroom, us five boys—Gene, Fred, Ron, John and I―had to climb stairs up to a small room under the squat bell tower. This was our first “segregated” SS class and he seized the opportunity to warn us against sexual temptation, enlightening us on the meaning of certain sexual hand signs and counseling us how to behave with girls. Silver Acres was big on teaching the dangers of sex. However, the only temptation I was feeling at the moment was to pull the church bell rope which passed through the classroom from floor to ceiling. Yet I remember the delicious discovery of the second sex at Silver Acres. At that age, girls were attractive, mysterious and untouchable.. . . To read more, click here:  https://jimhurd.com/2025/09/02/silver-acres-formed-me/

Leave a comment on the story and share with others. Thanks.

You can also access my stories on Substack:   (2) Silver Acres Formed Me – by James P Hurd – James’s Substack

Want to browse archived WINGSPREAD stories? Click here:  https://jimhurd.com/ then click in the righthand column under “archives.”  These stories include memoirs, stories about bush flying, personal essays and other topics.

Here are a few examples:

“Trouble in Paradise” (a whimsical take on the Adam and Eve story) https://jimhurd.com/2024/04/  

“Lone, Wandering But Lost?” (challenge of land and air navigation) https://tinyurl.com/3yuzsw3j 

“Egg McMuffin Miracle” (A personal “angel” epiphany)  https://tinyurl.com/24a5zr6y

This month’s puzzler, ”Island of Truth and Lies,” thanks to Car Talk Archives

This one is a classic. I’ll set the scene. 

You’re on Isla Nublar, the island from Jurassic Park. There are dangers around every corner. Pterodactyls are circling overhead. Tyrannosaurus Rex’s are nipping at your heels. The only hope to escape is to get to the dock before the last transport leaves the island. 

You’re driving along this road in your Nissan Pathfinder heading for the dock and you come to the proverbial fork in the road. You don’t know which way to go so you try to find someone to ask. 

Now, unfortunately, on this island there are only two kinds of people: liars and truth tellers. The liars always lie, and the truth tellers always tell the truth.

So you come to the fork in the road, and there are two guys there. And you know that they always travel in pairs. There’s always one liar and one truth teller. But you don’t know which is which. And you really need to know the way to the dock. 

So the puzzler question is, what one question could you ask either one of them that would certainly get you onto the right road and to safety where your boat awaits at the dock?

You only get one question. What would it be?

Good luck.

 (Answer will appear in next month’s WINGSPREAD newsletter.)

Answer to last month’s puzzler about the broken stone: 

This one was hard!

So what were the weights of the 4 individual pieces after the large stone was broken? Remember, the pieces of the broken stone could now be used to weigh any item, assuming those items were in 1-pound increments from 1 pound to 40 pounds, using the stones and a balance scale.

So how much did each piece weigh? And the hint that I gave was, how would you weigh 2 pounds?

Here is the answer:

One of the pieces has to be 1 pound. And if you use the hint I gave, then the next one has to be 3 pounds. Because if you put 1 pound on one side, and 3 pounds on the other side, that would equal weighing 2 pounds. If you weigh 2 pounds of hay on the 1 pound side, and it is equal with the 3 pound side, you know you have 2 pounds of hay.To weigh 4 pounds, you put the 1 and the 3 together. 

So if you follow this logic, you will see that the amounts have to be powers of 3 and there are four powers of 3 between 1 and 40: 1 pound (3⁰), 3 pounds (3¹), 9 pounds (3²), and 27 pounds (3³), and these four add up to 40. Pretty slick, huh?

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Click here https://jimhurd.com/home/  to subscribe to this WINGSPREAD ezine, sent direct to your email inbox, every month. You will receive a free article for subscribing. Please share this URL with interested friends, “like” it on Facebook, retweet on Twitter, etc.

If you wish to unsubscribe from this Wingspread Ezine, send an email to hurdjames1941@gmail.com  and put in the subject line: “unsubscribe.” (I won’t feel bad, promise!) Thanks.

Wisdom

Obsolete Words. (You still find these occasionally; sometimes in the old King James Bibles!) Demonstrates how words and usage change.

• anon – soon, shortly (“I will come anon.”)
• betimes – early, promptly
• peradventure – perhaps, maybe
• yclept – called, named (“A knight yclept Sir Gareth…”)
• hark – listen (“Hark! The herald angels . . .”)
• prithee – I pray thee; please
• fain – gladly, willingly
• nigh – near
• ere – before
• whilom – once upon a time
• shew – actually, just an obsolete spelling of “show”
• begotten – born
• espoused – engaged
• buckler – a small, round shield
• manger – a feed trough for animals

Contronyms (single words that have opposite meanings depending on the context)

1. Sanction – to approve (“The committee sanctioned the project”) / to penalize (“The country was sanctioned for violations”).
2. Oversight – supervision (“She has oversight of the department”) / an error by neglect (“It was an oversight on my part”).
3. Dust – to remove fine particles (“I dusted the shelves”) / to apply fine particles (“I dusted the cake with sugar”).
4. Left – remaining (“Only one slice left”) / departed (“She left the room”).
5. Trim – to decorate (“Trim the tree”) / to cut away (“Trim the hedge”).
6. Bound – heading toward (“She’s bound for Paris”) / restrained (“He was bound by ropes”).
7. Cleave – to split apart (“Cleave the log in two”) / to cling to (“Cleave to your principles”).
8. Seed – to plant seeds (“Seed the garden”) / to remove seeds (“Seed the watermelon”).
9. Screen – to show (“They screened the movie”) / to hide (“Screen the porch from the sun”).
10. Weather – to withstand (“Weather the storm”) / to be worn away (“The rock weathered over time”).
11. Fast – quick (“He runs fast”) / fixed, unmoving (“The rope was held fast”).
12. Clip – to attach (“Clip the papers together”) / to cut off (“Clip the coupon”).
13. Apology – expression of regret (“He gave an apology”) / formal defense or justification (“Plato’s Apology”).
14. Peruse – to read carefully / to skim casually (usage has shifted over time).
15. Bolt – to secure (“Bolt the door”) / to flee (“The horse bolted”).
16. Overlook – to supervise (“She overlooked the project”) / to miss noticing (“He overlooked the typo”).
17. Go – to proceed (“Go ahead”) / to fail or be spent (“The battery has gone”).
18. Dusty – covered in dust (“Dusty shelves”) / sprinkled with dust-like particles (“Dusty snow on the mountain”).
19. Temper – to soften (“Temper justice with mercy”) / to strengthen (“Tempered steel”).
20. Out – visible (“The stars are out”) / extinguished (“The fire is out”).

                                    I can relate . . .

Spreading wings in a perplexing world
July, 2025                                                    James P. Hurd

Please forward and share this ezine with others. Thank you.

Contents

• Writer’s Corner
• Blessed Unbeliever 
• This month’s story: “On A Roll”
• This month’s puzzler: light switches
• WINGSPREAD Ezine subscription information
• Wisdom

Writer’s Corner

Writer’s tip: Start your novel or story in media res (“in the middle of things”). For instance, you could start it just before or just after a crisis, peaking the reader’s interest. You can then double back and tell the story more chronologically.

Word of the month: NERDSPLAINING  (I made this one up!)  This refers to a very intelligent person explaining something but using words and ideas you’ve never heard of.

Task for you: Write a story of 100 words without using any adjectives or adverbs (good practice in using fewer, more direct words). Here’s a prompt: The most unusual holiday I ever spent.

BLESSED UNBELIEVER novel

Available in paper or Kindle version at Wipf and Stock Publishers, Amazon https://a.co/d/9su5F3o or wherever good books are sold.

New story: “On A Roll”

After flying to San Francisco, embracing my dear California sister and catching up on our lives, I get up to use the bathroom. It smells fresh and has a new towel laid out. But when I reach for the toilet paper, it’s facing the wall—backwards!

I’ve known Anne all my life―her opposite political persuasion, her preference for a different kind of church. None of this ever came between us. But the toilet paper shakes me. Where did she learn this? I don’t remember this happening in our childhood home. If she does this to the toilet paper what else is she hiding? Uncontrolled passive aggression? Anger issues? Never before have I noticed any serious issues. Did she do it on purpose? . . .

To read more, click here:  https://jimhurd.com/2025/07/15/on-a-roll/

Share the story with others and leave a comment on the website. Thanks.

Access more of my articles on Substack: https://jameshurd.substack.com/publish/post/164503545

This month’s puzzler (thanks to “Car Talk” puzzlers)

This one is complicated, so make sure you concentrate!

There are three on/off switches on the wall on the first floor of a building.

You can tell when they’re switched on or off because they are either clicked up for on, or down for off, like a light switch.

You don’t know which of these three switches controls an incandescent lamp on the third floor of the building. The other two are not connected to anything and don’t do anything at all.

You are allowed to toggle the switches on or off as many times as you please.

Further, you are allowed to walk just once to the third floor to check the lamp to see if it is on or not.

So, how can you know which switch controls the lamp on the third floor?

(Answer will appear in next month’s WINGSPREAD newsletter.)

Answer to last month’s puzzler: 

What was the man buying in the hardware store if one costs 60 cents, but 200 costs only $1.80?

He was buying house numbers, the little numbers you put on your house! 

He lives at house number 200. So he just needs three numbers: a two and two zeros. Three times 60 cents equals $1.80.

Good one.

Subscribe free to this Ezine  

Click here https://jimhurd.com/wingspread-ezine/   to subscribe to this WINGSPREAD ezine, sent direct to your email inbox every month. You will receive a free article for subscribing. Please share this URL with interested friends, “like” it on Facebook, retweet on Twitter, etc.

If you wish to unsubscribe from this Wingspread Ezine, send an email to hurd@usfamily.net and put in the subject line: “unsubscribe.” (I won’t feel bad, promise!) Thanks.

Wisdom

Musings on Love

1. “Love is sharing your popcorn.” – Charles Schultz
2. “Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.” – Albert Einstein
3. “Love is an ocean of emotions entirely surrounded by expenses.” – Thomas Dewar
4. “I love you more than coffee, but please don’t make me prove it.” – Anonymous
5. “A guy knows he’s in love when he loses interest in his car for a couple of days.” – Tim Allen
6. “Marriage is like a walk in the park. Jurassic Park.” – Anonymous
7. “Love is being stupid together.” – Paul Valery
8. “Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you’re in.” – Richard Jeni
9. “Forget love, I’d rather fall in chocolate.” – Anonymous
10. “My wife and I were happy for twenty years – then we met.” – Rodney Dangerfield
11. “My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.” – Jimmy Durante
12. “Love is the only kind of fire that is never covered by insurance.” – Anonymous
13. “If love is the answer, could you rephrase the question?” – Lily Tomlin

The joys of family life

1. “Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children.” – Sam Levenson
2. “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” – George Burns
3. “Having children is like living in a frat house – nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.” – Ray Romano
4. “A family reunion is an effective form of birth control.” – Robert A. Heinlein
5. “The advantage of growing up with siblings is that you become very good at fractions.” – Anonymous
6. “Remember, as far as anyone knows, we are a nice, normal family.” – Homer Simpson
7. “Home, nowadays, is a place where part of the family waits until the rest of the family brings the car back.” – Earl Wilson
8. “A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.” – Ogden Nash
9. “Being part of a family means smiling for photos.” – Harry Morgan
10. “The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.” – George Carlin
11. “The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.” – George Santayana

Classic One-Liners

1. “I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early.” – Anonymous
2. “Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night.’” – Charlie Brown
3. “If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.” – Earl Wilson
4. “My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.” – Mitch Hedberg
5. “I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised.” – Anonymous
6. “I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.” – Phyllis Diller
7. “I used to think I was indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.” – Anonymous
8. “I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” – Steven Wright
9. “A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.” – Steven Wright
10. “I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives.” – Anonymous
11. “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” – Groucho Marx
12. “Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.” – Oscar Wilde
13. “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” – Jim Carrey

Spreading your wings in a perplexing world
January, 2025 James P. Hurd

Please forward and share this Ezine with others. Thank you!

Contents

 Writer’s Corner
 Blessed Unbeliever
 This month’s story
 This month’s puzzler
 WINGSPREAD Ezine subscription information
 Wisdom

Writer’s Corner

Tip for writers: Memoir writers commonly agonize over how to write about bad actors. When a friend complains about what she wrote about them, Anne Lamott suggests telling them, “If you wanted me to write better things about you, you should have been a better person.” That might work, but you might lose a friend. 😊
Task for you: Try writing your whole piece in the present tense, first person. Great exercise but hard to do.
Book of the month: Jim Wallis, The False White Gospel. St. Martins, New York. 2024. Rejecting racism and white nationalism, Wallis uses biblical texts such as Matther 25 to present what Jesus-followers should believe and do. No surprises here for those who have read Wallis before, but a great book “for times such as these.” Here is a person who still calls himself an Evangelical but rejects the false gospel of white American exceptionalism.

BLESSED UNBELIEVER novel

Sean McIntosh left his Fundamentalist childhood and walked the road toward becoming an atheist—while attending Torrey Bible Institute! Spoiler alert: it didn’t work out very well. Blessed Unbeliever (paper or Kindle version) can be found at Wipf and Stock Publishers, Amazon https://a.co/d/9su5F3o or wherever good books are sold.

New story: “A Blessed Death”

This blog is very personal. On December 13, 2024, I lost my dearest treasure. Here is the edited eulogy I wrote for Barbara’s memorial service. held on December 28.

Each life is sacred to God. Thus, it is fitting that we meet today to celebrate the life and faith of Barbara Ann Hurd (Breneman). She was born during the Great Depression to a strong Mennonite family on a dairy farm near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Farming life taught her the virtue of hard work, a virtue she demonstrated throughout her life and inflicted on her husband and children.
In 1967 Barbara began her work with Latin America Mission when she taught school in Costa Rica. We met each other there and, after a few months, became engaged on a remote airstrip in Venezuela where I was flying for Mission Aviation Fellowship. Later, we adopted our three children from Costa Rica and Colombia.
Barbara never complained about where we lived. , , , ,
To read more, click here: https://jimhurd.com/2025/01/18/a-blessed-death/

Share with others and leave a comment on the website. Thanks.

This month’s puzzler (thanks to Car Talk archives)

Super short.
I lost something recently at a friend’s house. My friend mailed it back to me. But it is of no use to me now, from this time forward, since he mailed it.
What was it?
Good luck.

(Answer will appear in next month’s WINGSPREAD newsletter.)

Answer to last month’s puzzler:
You guessed it! Recall that a ship’s porthole was nine feet above waterline but the tide was coming in. The question was how high would the porthole be above the water after the tide came in. Of course, the porthole would always be nine feet above the surface of the water because as the tide comes in the boat will float on the higher tide.

Subscribe free to this Ezine

Click here: https://jimhurd.com/home/ to subscribe to this WINGSPREAD ezine, sent direct to your email inbox, every month. You will receive a free article for subscribing. Please share this URL with interested friends, “like” it on Facebook, retweet on Twitter, etc.
If you wish to unsubscribe from this Wingspread Ezine, send an email to hurd@usfamily.net and put in the subject line: “unsubscribe.” (I won’t feel bad, promise!) Thanks.

Wisdom

Here is my informal attempt to define these words listed in a previous Wingspread:
Sycophant A self-serving, servile flatterer
Doomscrolling Getting depressed scrolling through social media
Catfishing Creating a fake online identity to deceive and control others
Hacking Breaking in to a computer program or using it in a new way
Clickbait A seductive posting that gets you to click on it
Frenemies Being friendly with someone whom you may dislike
Ghosting Withdrawing from a (social media) conversation without notice or explanation
Phishing Attempt to steal someone’s personal digital information
Troll Constant, unwanted posting on someone’s social media
Blogosphere The world of blogs and social media
Meme Images or words that go viral (see below)
Crowdsourcing Using social media to raise money
Viral post A posting that quickly gathers many followers
Mash-up Combining two or more unlike things
Avatar A computer image identified with a certain person
Argot Slang or jargon of a particular group of people (“teen argot”)

Seen in the paint section of the hardware store

Winston Churchill quotes:
• You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.
• Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.
• A nation that forgets its past has no future.
• Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
• A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.
• A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
• One man with conviction will overwhelm a hundred who have only opinions.
• I’d rather argue against a hundred idiots than have one agree with me.
• An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping he will eat him last.
• Life is fraught with opportunities to keep your mouth shut.