The past few years, dozens of intrepid folks (ambulatory but with what I suspect are less than healthy mental faculties) rush into the water in the channel between East and West Caroga Lakes for "the Polar Plunge" on Jan. 1. They do this intentionally and with malice of forethought. I witness this event each year. Each year, even though I have Nordic genes and have been accused of preferring a roll in the snow to lying on a hot beach, I still marvel at the people voluntarily rushing into the ice water with screams of supposed delight and happiness. This particular year, the crazy ice water event connected to something sinister, and that's where it got sad, but interesting. Just the kind of thing they'd call me in on... and that's what they did.

All of life was simple to my father. You worked hard. You told the truth. You stayed faithful to your mate, family and business. You rested at times, and played and picnicked when appropriate, but never to excess. When bad things happened, you endured and persevered. No miraculous promises of being saved by the bell, Angels or rich uncles were on the horizon. But in between all this common sense stoicism and simple view of life, a philosophy emerged with more nuances than perhaps even he envisioned. It was a "do the right thing and right things will prevail" life-view over all, but with laughter, surprises, friendships and love found along the way. At least that's how it seemed to me. And since his first name was Nils, I was, literally, the son of....

Since Five Easy Pieces was already taken as a title, I guess Short Rounds will have to do. Also, it seems appropriate that, as of this writing, I have five published books in print. These five short stories can serve as a complementary addendum to those five books. I also include a short "spiritual memoir" titled Faith Came Easy and two previously unpublished poems. I will try to let the short fiction speak for itself, but I should add that it is as eclectic as I can make it. There is mystery, science fiction, scene portraiture and even an attempt at horror. So here goes. Some quick reads and, I hope, interesting pieces. They pretty much all stand alone, except possibly "Inside Out," which utilizes the main character from my Adirondack Mystery series, Hallum Johnson. The other stories are all orphans in character and the fact that this is the first time they have seen the light of day in publication.

Since I first came to Caroga Lake in 1949 when my parents bought a rustic camp on the north shore of West Caroga Lake, I have always been a bit in love with this area. When I graduated from seasonal to year-round resident in 1995 it became home sweet home. My selection of photos is, of course, arbitrary and makes no attempt to cover all aspects of our beautiful area. Still, you may get an idea of how much I care about this town I have made home and see the beauty of all four seasons.

The flies were the first thing that would have caught my attention. The drooping, sagging mass of flesh and the smell of urine and the bowels having let go were right up there in sensory overload, but the buzzing blue and green shining flies all over the body signaled there was no going back for this dude. From doing suicide on-call for more than a decade, I've seen my share of "successful" attempts. There are no pretty stories to tell. Even though I came upon the scene after the fact, long after as a matter of fact, even though the photos I eventually saw were black and whites in a sheriff's file, I had seen enough of the real thing to be able, no matter how hard I tried not to, to see the body gently swaying in the tepid breeze from a tree limb like some very bad, rotten fruit. Question was: Did Bobby Banks climb a tree and let go, or did he have a little help? That's what I was being paid to find out.

"What the...!" Zach started as he landed on all fours and put out his hand to see what he'd tripped on. What he tripped over shifted with his weight and the push of his hand until the face of his brother, Bobby, stared blankly up into the starlit night from where he lay in a heap. Zach brought his wet, glistening hand palm upwards for Rose to see and they both stared at Zach's bloody hand for several seconds with the only sounds that of their breathing and chirp of crickets in the grass. Brush Arbor, A Cautionary Tale of 1950s Rural Arkansas, follows the lives of four teenagers - Naomi, John Lee, Rose Lyn and Zach - caught up in the mystery surrounding the murder of Bobby, Zach's brother. It evokes the rural Deep South in the 1950s with the sights and sounds and atmosphere of a small town with secrets.

From 'Trying to Help People': "Personally, I am on a journey of discovery when I compose a poem. I rarely have a plan or any idea what the finished product will look like. Often a bit of conversation, something I've heard on the radio or read in a newspaper will set me off on that voyage of discovery...As far as the title goes, I've always liked the turn of thought from such sayings as, 'No good deed goes unpunished.' Trying to help people is not only an exercise in futility; it is likely to get you in trouble. Yet there are those of us who have the audacity to make the attempt and the effrontery to expect such efforts to be appreciated."

From The Book of Power: "Let me speak of a time when the world was not as it is. Some of the history of that time came down to us in spoken word and that word was written down with pictures drawn and maps plotted. Whether all things that were said were truth and all writings were exact is not for this student to say. In long studies at night and in the day through libraries and records and keepers of many local histories this student can but pass on what was written and drawn and spoken from father to son. From all those dusty books and dry speeches comes the story that follows. From all that and a faith and feeling for what is true."

An Old-Fashioned Shooting is a wild ride through the Adirondacks of upstate New York with a mystery to be solved, abundant wit and humor, and a great sense of fun. The action takes place in the near-recent past and follows the narrator through a twisting tale of mystery and intrigue. A good time read. Come on along.