Pimping a Post

With Halloween two days away, I thought I would pimp a post, in this case a Halloween short story I wrote about Tipping Outhouses on Halloween. Take time to read it and vote.
Happy Halloween!

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Tipping Outhouses — A Halloween Short Story

Back when I was growing up in Cherry, Illinois often heard stories about kids tipping outhouses on Halloween. It was a popular Halloween prank that sometimes backfired.

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The Great Korean Pumpkin Carve-Off

Some Western cultural events or customs like sending Christmas cards or giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day have traveled well in Asia—in terms of how well they have caught on, with a few modifications here and there.
Halloween has also caught on in places like South Korea, Japan, and Thailand where the influx of Western [...]

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Popcorn Balls

Popcorn Balls
Gee lady,
is that all I get;
a stale popcorn ball
dyed with red
food coloring—
when the folks
next door
are handing out
mini Snickers
and Butterfingers
Copyright 2009 ©  Jeffrey Alan Miller

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Wax Teeth

Wax Teeth
I never could understand
the novelty and appeal of
cherry-flavored wax teeth.
You know, the buck teeth
and vampire fangs—
or the bright red thick
wax lips
to fool friends or
provoke teachers
when worn in class.
Once the Halloween fun
was over
and what little flavor
had been chewed out,
they were just
a soggy, tasteless
wad of wax.
© 2009 Jeffrey Alan Miller

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Hunkering down for Chuseok, again

It’s Chuseok time again in Korea and for the next three days the country will be on vacation mode with around 20 million Koreans heading back to their hometowns to be with families or others just staying put. (With the Swine Flu scare, many Koreans are doing just that—staying at home and avoiding crowded buses [...]

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Knee-high by the 4th of July

I wrote this blog post a year ago and the other night, I looked at it again after a friend had mentioned “knee-high by the Fourth of July.” Like a fine wine, it reads so much better now than when I first wrote it. I like this essay a lot. It’s one that I feel [...]

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Happy Father’s Day

Dear Jeremy Aaron,
Today is Father’s Day, my first one since you entered this world nine months and two days ago to bless my life forever.
Not a day has gone by since you were born that I haven’t counted my blessings for you and all the happiness you have brought into my life.
Some people have wondered [...]

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Decoration Day

Decoration Day, that’s what my Grandma and Grandpa Miller called Memorial Day back when the holiday was celebrated on May 30 and not the last Monday in May.
The holiday, which was first enacted after the American Civil War to honor Union soldiers who had died in the American Civil War, was expanded after World War [...]

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Be my Valentine

Valentine’s Day, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween was one of those neat, fun-stuff-to-do holidays when you are in elementary school because you got to get out of a few hours of class to make decorations and do whatever observance that was associated with the holiday.
In other words, it was a chance to screw off, make [...]

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