Welcome!
Fine Photography
Picture of the Day
Writings
Words of the Week
Mom & Pop Prop. Mgt.




budgrossmann.com
Fine photography, writings, & other worthwhile items.

Bud Grossmann’s

Words of the Week
Back Issues

© 2007 by Bud Grossmann.
All Rights Reserved.


Clarke Avenue (Blue), 1969
  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

© 2008 by Bud Grossmann