Bud Grossmann’s Words of the Week Back Issues © 2007 by Bud Grossmann. All Rights Reserved.   Clarke Avenue (Blue), 1969 © 1969 by Bud Grossmann If a piece catches your interest, CLICK ON ITS TITLE. January 4, 2009 Resolving a Misunderstanding With a Tough Guy Fiction. While a student contemplates violence, a sailor stays steady. December 28, 2008 Wringing Out the Old Poem. December 21, 2008 Christmas Greetings of Sorts List. A man goes through his mail. December 14, 2008 Rosebud Rediscovered Gramma Letter. On a quiet winter evening in a small Wisconsin town a father and his son raise Kane. December 7, 2008 Gambling and Gamboling Poem. A dog leads a man on a slippery slope. November 30, 2008 Playing It Safe Fiction. A man defends a habit. November 23, 2008 Simply Put Fiction. A writer takes the brevity out of aphorisms. November 16, 2008 Here's Lookin' at Me! Fiction. A man reflects on mirrors. November 9, 2008 Apolitical Message Fiction. Two men discuss the weather. November 2, 2008 A Modest Plan Poem October 26, 2008 Mistakes Have Been Made Fiction October 19, 2008 [Not Titled] Photo Title October 12, 2008 Insomnia Aphorism. October 5, 2008 Essentials of Shooting Gramma Letter. A photographer recalls some head shots. September 28, 2008 Two T's in Repetition Poem. September 21, 2008 Change of Heart Poem. September 14, 2008 Higher Mathematics Political Commentary. September 7, 2008 My Shirts Poem. August 31, 2008 Astonishment Poem. August 24, 2008 Praying for Wisdom Fiction. A small-town man passes judgment and passes on gossip. August 17, 2008 Living a Fictional Life With a Presumably Real Insomnia Fiction. A man attempts to comfort a friend who could not sleep. August 10, 2008 Olympic Event Poem. August 3, 2008 Cutting Back Poem. Two friends practice restraint. July 27, 2008 From Jerusalem to Jericho Fiction. A man confesses to plotting to commit a good deed. July 20, 2008 An Entirely Unfair Riddle Fiction. July 13, 2008 A Question Concerning Rhetoric Aphorism. July 6, 2008 A True Statement, As Far As It Goes Family History. June 29, 2008 An Unorthodox Hospitality Gramma Letter. A visitor receives an unexpected welcome. June 22, 2008 Loss of Averages Fiction. A man thanks a friend for permitting him to speak frankly. June 15, 2008 Checklists Aphorism. June 8, 2008 A June Day Fiction. A man reports on storm damage. June 1, 2008 Comparatively Speaking Chart. A communicator lists pros and cons of various media of personal communication. May 25, 2008 Spilling Beans Fiction. A man delivers news to a hometown friend who has moved away. May 18, 2008 Trivia Report Fiction. An aging man writes of people more aged. May 11, 2008 A Mother's Small Request Poem. May 4, 2008 Easy as Pie? Who Would Know? Fiction. A baker critiques his own strawberry pie. April 27, 2008 About My Reticence Aphorism. April 20, 2008 Let Sleepy Dogs Lie Fiction. A deliriously sick writer wanders throughout the countryside. April 13, 2008 Proceeding Slowly Poem. A man is so sick he can barely move. April 6, 2008 Words Commentary. March 30, 2008 Recommendation Poem. March 23, 2008 The Resurrection Theological statement. March 16, 2008 Exchange of Greetings Conversational fragment. A man receives a phone call from a friend. March 9, 2008 Two Men the Same Age Poem. March 2, 2008 Feeling Low Comment. February 24, 2008 Bank Service Charge Fiction. A man falls asleep, wakes to find his pockets picked. February 17, 2008 An Instant of Recognition Poem. A man makes something big of something very small. February 10, 2008 Some Restrictions May Apply Fiction. A woman turns up the heat on a baker in his kitchen. February 3, 2008 Public Record Poem. January 27, 2008 A Happy-Enough Woman Limerick. January 20, 2008 Hazardous Duty Poem. The poet recalls a favorite class in school. January 13, 2008 I Get No Response When I Harangue the Meringue Poem. January 6, 2008 Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth Fiction. A writer raises questions of authorship; a tipper tips her hand. December 30, 2007 Many Words About Fewer Words Fiction. A writer comments on editing. December 23, 2007 Where Do We Go From Here? Poem. December 16, 2007 Spirits of the Season Poem. December 9, 2007 Slow Thinker Poem. December 2, 2007 Seriously Epigram. November 25, 2007 Relatively Speaking Fiction. A man and his mom greet relatives on Thanksgiving Day. November 18, 2007 Contemplating the Miller High Life Art Commentary. November 11, 2007 Winds of War Poem. November 4, 2007 It's Good Poem. October 28, 2007 Legal Observation Poem. October 21, 2007 A Public Appearance Fiction. A Jack Daniel's label gives rise to bottled up emotions. October 14, 2007 Pretty in Pink Poem. An autumn evening has the potential for ending with a bang. October 7, 2007 Autumn Leaves Epigram. September 30, 2007 A Roast is a Roast is a Roast Poem. September 16 & 23, 2007 Thoracic Park Poem. September 9, 2007 Antidepressants Poem. September 2, 2007 I Am Glum Poem. August 26, 2007 Over-the-Counter Medicine Poem. August 19, 2007 Favorite Subject Poem. A man with a camera recalls when he first took a shine to photography. August 12, 2007 A Mother's Touch Poem. August 5, 2007 Health Care Reform Fiction. The usual moaning and groaning about high cost of American medicine. July 29, 2007 Went to Bed and Slept Poem. July 22, 2007 Missed Kisses Fiction. A man alone has a poor night's rest. July 15, 2007 Hung Out to Dry Poem. July 8, 2007 Double Entendre Declaration. July 1, 2007 Territorial Disputes Family History. A mother and others protect their young. June 24, 2007 Dealbreaker Fiction. A shy man reaches out with both hands. June 17, 2007 A Question of Paternity Gramma Letter. Bud boasts that he has known a Hollywood celebrity for thirty years. June 10, 2007 Having A Nervous Break-In Fiction. A lawyer recalls a trespass. June 3, 2007 A Missed Chance Fiction. A man regrets interfering with a friend's generosity. May 27, 2007 Lethal to Love Remark. May 20, 2007 Kids Today Remark. May 13, 2007 A Familiar Resemblance Family History. The author's memorable countenance is found in many places. May 6, 2007 Hesitation Poem. April 29, 2007 Family History. A boy guesses at meaning in a universal language. Poem. April 22, 2007 Mass Misbehavior Poem. April 15, 2007 In Praise of Flannery O'Connor Fiction. A writer comments on a writer. April 8, 2007 Seeds on Stony Soil Gramma Letter. After Sunday School, something surprising pops up at home. April 1, 2007 City Boy's Lament Fiction. A small-town resident addresses questions to candidates for public office. March 25, 2007 Foggy Morning in May Poem. A man loses something costly regardless of its worth. March 18, 2007 Wisconsin Stone-House Window Light Poem. March 11, 2007 The Endless Silence of the Sky Poem. A man looks up, and his feet leave the ground. March 4, 2007 Circumflexible Circumlocution Poem. An English-speaking man who once studied Koine Greek helplessly flails about. February 25, 2007 Perils of an Ice-Cream Parlor Poem. An insufficiency of solemnity costs a soldier her dignity. February 18, 2007 One Good Way to Write a Family History How-To. February 11, 2007 I ♥ Valentine's Day Poem. February 4, 2007 An Unsportsmanlike Attitude Poem. An American father commits blasphemy on Super Bowl Sunday. January 28, 2007 Kelly Girl Family History. A secretary ascends through the glass ceiling. Fortunately he is not wearing a skirt. January 21, 2007 Mom Came Home Fiction. On a Wisconsin winter evening a man with no companion fails to roast chestnuts by an open fire. January 14, 2007 On Gossip Proverb. January 7, 2007 Getting Ready for a Journey Planning Form. A two-page form that can help a person "get things in order" for when he or she leaves this earthly life. December 31, 2006 Ski Sticks Gramma Letter. Two friends look back over one year and many, many decades. December 24, 2006 Ticketless Travel Gramma Letter. A young man and young woman reach out to receive the kindness of strangers. December 17, 2006 And One Tree More Gramma Letter. A family man recalls some trees of Christmases past. December 10, 2006 Wide Margins Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln December 3, 2006 Wisconsin Welcome Fiction. A man, not very tall, finds a woman he can look up to in a small town. November 26, 2006 Farm Chores Poem. November 19, 2006 Old Dogs & Sunday School Teachers Children's Sermon. A man discusses the harsh realities of teacher recruitment. November 12, 2006 Pulling the Pins Fiction. A hard rain carries a man into a stream of consciousness. November 5, 2006 Taxi Driver Family History. An accident investigator performs with alacrity and efficiency. October 29, 2006 A Limited Number of Slams Family History. A boy contemplates the principle of the Conservation of Matter. October 22, 2006 What Helps? A father, a year after his teen-aged son’s death, offers a “Report of Emotional Health.” October 15, 2006 Awaiting the Aftershocks Poem. October 8, 2006 It Never Rains But It Pours Poem. Two women encounter a road hazard in inclement weather. October 1, 2006 Two Fires in a Farm House Family History. September 24, 2006 A Woman Without Clothes Poem. July 16, 2006 Burger King Limerick July 9, 2006 Does Not Meet Our Present Needs Fiction. One author grows impatient with another. July 2, 2006 Father-Daughter Look-Alikes Gramma Letter. June 25, 2006 Cost of Eggs Journal Entry. A gentleman farmer makes a bookkeeping entry in narrative form. June 18, 2006 Chester Joins the Family Gramma Letter. A father casts his vote against a dog. June 11, 2006 If You Can't Beat 'Em, ... Gramma Letter. A father fails to reprimand his daughter. June 4, 2006 Dress Code Violator Gramma Letter. A former divinity student is misidentified by a law enforcement official. May 28, 2006 Bob Can’t Believe the Kids Have Grown Family History. Cousins-in-law recall the winter of ’87. May 21, 2006 Cars Colliding With Living Things Gramma Letter. The author contemplates the fragility of life. May 14, 2006 A Mother’s Work Epigram. May 7, 2006 Smooth-Soled, Borrowed Boots Poem. Two non-cowboys ride off into the sunset. April 30, 2006 Photographic Technical Data Philosophy. Two friends discuss the absence of a photograph. April 23, 2006 About the Photographer Portfolio Blurb. April 16, 2006 Did You Toss Anything Into the Water? Fiction. A man asks a woman friend to expand her journal entry. April 9, 2006 One Epigram Epigram. April 2, 2006 Old Joke Joke. March 26, 2006 Folding Laundry Fiction. A father contemplates his happiness and his heartache. March 19, 2006 I Promise I Will Write Quotation from a Gramma Letter dated April 26, 1994. March 12, 2006 Please Stay a While Poem. March 5, 2006 A Mostly True Adventure Cartoon. A nurse rehearses for duty at Guantanamo. February 26, 2006 With No Other Churchwork... Poem. February 19, 2006 I Remember ... Hair (Available only on paper. Write to Bud.) Poem. February 12, 2006 Not Marking a Book of Poems Poem. Yet another self-explanatory, self-obfuscatory title, such as poets sometimes produce. February 5, 2006 Warming a Woman in Winter, Part 2 Fiction. On a cold day in February, a furnace man receives a kiss from a client. January 29, 2006 Warming a Woman in Winter, Part 1 Fiction. Before dawn on a cold day in February, a furnace man receives a request for service. January 22, 2006 A Valentine Wish for a Philospher Poem. January 15, 2006 Now I Lay Me Prayer. January 8, 2006 But Did You Like the Picture? Family History. Bud gives his friend directions to a little house. Document redacted. January 1, 2006 The Second Day of the New Year Poem. A confession, not entirely unambiguous. December 25, 2005 (Journal Entry: December 25, 1969) Poem. December 18, 2005 Ten zillion Chrismas lights aglow... Poem. December 11, 2005 One Good Way to Write Letters ... How-To. December 4, 2005 The Start of a Long Drive Fiction. A forty-year-old Impala reminds a man of a long-ago Bel-Air. (Part one of a two-part story) November 27, 2005 Yes, I Do Believe I Know Poem. Observations on the power of words. November 20, 2005 An Excused Absence Family History. A freshman at Rio High School finds his father was right (again): It Never Hurts to Ask. November 13, 2005 Snip Poem. A young man faces romantic loss. November 6, 2005 It Followed Me Home Fiction. A Baltimore man travels a great distance in an old car. October 30, 2005 Spañada Poem. October 23, 2005 An Enduring Truth, or Two Poem. October 17, 2005 A Drive Out West Family History. A father gives his opinion. October 10, 2005 Precious Cargo Fiction. A father takes inventory of his possessions. October 3, 2005 A Man With a Messy Van Family History. A father finds he has what he needs to help a boy in trouble. September 25, 2005 Trout Stream (of Consciousness) Family History. The author remarks upon three fine fish. September 18, 2005 A Short History of My Hair Styles Political Comment. The author makes an erroneous prediction about the consequences of the U.S. presidential election of 2000. September 11, 2005 Wake-Up Calls Family History. A diary entry for a big day in American history. September 4, 2005 Spoken in Car #84 Poetry. Conversations and comments in a taxicab. August 28, 2005 Name-Dropping Family History. The writer describes "brushes and near brushes with celebrity." August 21, 2005 Beg Your Pardon Poem. An artist seeks to put a model at ease. August 14, 2005 Carrot Cake Recipe. Writing that requests a response. August 7, 2005 Firstborn Child Family History. The stork delivers David to Bud and Fran. July 31, 2005 Lunch Sometime Soon Poem. The narrator declares his good intentions. July 24, 2005 “Communicating with a Kiss” (Available only on paper. Write to Bud.) Family History. A child brings clarity to a radio broadcast. July 17, 2005 Calling a Spade a Spade Poem. The author speaks fondly of an aging pet dog. July 10, 2005 Bird Shot, Bird Bumped Poem. The author recalls some pheasant stories. July 3, 2005 An Unidentified Body Poem. The author finds a surprise in his kitchen. June 26, 2005 A Can With A Hole in It Family History. A cup of coffee causes a man to think of guns. June 19, 2005 A Story of Sons & Fathers Family History. A father compares his own "parenting skills" with those of his dad and his grandpa. June 12, 2005 A Cat and a Rose Family History. A pet departs; a rose rises (more or less). June 5, 2005 A Hard Place to Be In Poem. The author recalls a "picnic rock," beloved by children on a Wisconsin farm. May 29, 2005 Shooting Photographs Family History. The author wonders about a wristwatch his uncle sent home from a war zone. May 22, 2005 Be Seated Please Poem. Simply a silly poem. May 15, 2005 “A Scent So Sweet” Family History. A reflection on grief. May 8, 2005 Twice-Found Love Fiction. A man discovers a love letter, and then discovers it again. May 1, 2005 Some of What I Try to Avoid in My Writing Literary instruction. A list, exactly as the title suggests. April 24, 2005 Second Chances Children's Sermon. A story of God's grace. April 17, 2005 Saltwater Daffy Poem. A man at the beach watches women in the water. April 10, 2005 The Caliente Sisters & Other Angels Family History. A man recalls some women he has known. April 3, 2005 Comrades in Arms Family History. A story of two soldiers and their enduring alliance. March 27, 2005 Our David Has Died Family History. March 20, 2005 Domestic Dangers Fiction. A family man fondly recalls a friend. March 13, 2005 Good-as-New on Monday Poem. A long life, all on one page. March 6, 2005 Marbles Coach Family History. The author recalls his boyhood in Japan. February 27, 2005 Snug and Safe, Wrapped in the U.S. Flag Political Comment. The author attempts to display restraint, while urging his country's leaders to display restraint. February 20, 2005 Uncle Al Leads a Scout Astray Family History. A lad and his dad set out for Boy Scout camp but they never arrive. Did you find typos or faulty links on this page? Misleading descriptions? Do you have something constructive to say to Bud? Use his comment form to let him know. Top of this page | HOME | Fine Photography | Picture of the Day | Writings | | Words of the Week | Mom & Pop Prop. Mgt. | FAQ |

This page was updated December 28, 2008, 2126 CST