There were no buglers on Mars. Frank was deeply disappointed by this, and he let everyone know how he felt the first morning after they touched down. “If you’re going to install a military base on the surface of another god damn planet,” he said, “it should have all the…

As a species, we’d forgotten about the notion of going someplace quiet. Screens were everywhere – in your home, in your car, in the street. Even in the bathroom. And somebody had to create all that content. That person was Murray. To be fair, he was really a small cog…

“It’s just a little dirt, Jerry! What’s the big deal?” “The big deal is that I spent good money planting grass and shrubs and your idiot kid comes along like he owns the place – ” “Don’t talk about my kid that way or you’ll get what’s coming to you!”…

Joseph knew deep down in his heart that Uncle Lou was dying. No one had actually told him, and it took him a while to figure it out for himself. In fact, it was the lack of information that first caused Joseph to think harder about things. Every other time…

It was Thanksgiving at the Heron’s Nest, and everyone was coming home. James was back from Iraq and was miraculously not shot or blown up even a little bit, so he was eager to resume his role as quarterback of the Blacks, which was the name of one of the…